The head of the world’s largest conference of bishops (by geographic area) will be speaking in Parramatta in April, as part of a series of public lectures in Sydney and Melbourne.
Archbishop Ryan Jimenez, of Agana, on the island of Guam, is the head of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific, which is the largest such conference by area in the world, stretching from Guam in the western Pacific to Tahiti in the southeast. He is also the vice president of the umbrella organisation, the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania.
He will give a talk at the Cloister Hall of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, on Tuesday, 21 April, at 6pm, as part of the annual Bishop Vincent Presents series. The theme of his lecture will be “an immigrant bishop for an immigrant church”, in which he will address his own story of growing up in the Philippines and moving to the US territory of Guam as a young man. He will also reflect on some of the big issues facing the people of the Pacific, such as climate change, migration and inequality. After the talk he will hold a question-and-answer session.
In a private audience with Pope Leo in Rome 2025, Archbishop Jimenez spoke to the Holy Father about the catastrophic consequences of climate change and the resulting rise in sea levels on many Pacific islands. This had forced many people from these low-lying countries to emigrate to Australia, he said.
He told Vatican News that one of his colleagues from Tuvalu sent him a message before his meeting with the Pope. “Please tell the Holy Father that we are sinking,” his colleague said.
While in Parramatta, Archbishop Jimenez will also be meeting with Filipino priests in the Diocese, the Filipino community and members from the Payce Foundation. He will then travel to Melbourne for the Hélder Câmara Lecture on 28 April, as well as attending other community events with the Filipino community.
Places are limited for both the Sydney and Melbourne lectures. To book for either event, please go to our website.
