On Friday 20 June, the Vatican announced that Bishop Tony Ireland, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne, had been appointed by Pope Leo XIV as the next Archbishop of Hobart.
He will be officially installed as the twelfth bishop and eleventh archbishop of Hobart on Tuesday 12 August at St Mary’s Cathedral in Hobart.
“It is with a spirit of service and devotion that I come to the Archdiocese of Hobart,” Archbishop-elect Tony said in a statement following the public announcement.
“To lead in faith, to serve with love, and to worship in spirit and in truth, as our Lord calls us to do in the Gospel of St John,” he added.
“I kindly ask for your prayers—for me, and for all those I will soon be blessed to serve and guide.”
According to Archbishop-elect Tony, the appointment was not wholly unexpected. Following the February ordination of two new auxiliary bishops in Melbourne, several of his bishop friends began teasing him that he would be on the move. However, he did not expect that he would be coming to Tasmania.
He first received the news on 7 June at the start of a week’s holiday in Queensland when he received several text messages from the Apostolic Nunciature asking him to call.
When he returned the call, Monsignor Alfred D’Souza, after asking Bishop Tony if he was alone, proceeded to tell him, “Well, Pope Leo has appointed you as the Archbishop of Hobart. Do you accept?” Bishop Tony replied immediately, “Yes, I am humbled, and I will accept.”
Archbishop-elect Tony said he has visited Tasmania several times over the years, including as a seminarian in 1985, and also in 2008 when the World Youth Day cross and icon were brought on the ferry from Melbourne to Launceston for a special Mass.
“The beauty of Tasmania is one thing that captivates you,” he said.
His vocational journey to the priesthood was one of being “chosen” Archbishop-elect Tony said.
Bishop Tony Ireland, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne, was appointed Archbishop of Hobart by Pope Leo XIV. Photo: Archdiocese of Melbourne
Born Anthony John Ireland in 1957, he grew up in a Catholic family in Caulfield, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne’s south-east. He was the eldest of three siblings and family life had a particular focus on caring for his younger brother who was severely disabled. This meant the family could never attend Sunday Mass together as someone always needed to stay home and care for his brother.
He attended St Aloysius Primary School in Caulfield and later completed his secondary schooling at De La Salle College in Malvern.
After working for a few years, first at the National Australia Bank and then for local government, he began thinking about the priesthood. This was largely due to qualities that others saw in him, rather than an inner conviction.
“There were people around me who thought that I might do well at that type of thing,” he said.
“The confirmation of your vocation is when the Church chooses you. When the bishop says, ‘we choose this man our brother for the Order of Deacons’. That’s the confirmation. So, you can offer and be open to formation, but it’s when others see in you the suitability to be able to do it.”
He was influenced by the late Bishop Joe Grech, who was chaplain to a group he joined called the Eastern Twenties Catholic Club.
“He was a young priest at that time with energy, and I had never seen a young priest in my parish.”
He enjoyed his seminary training at Corpus Christi College and was ordained to the priesthood at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne on 19 September 1987.
Following ordination, he went on to serve in the parishes of Grovedale and Torquay, Mentone, Sandringham, Langwarrin, Frankston and Doncaster.
“No two parishes are the same,” he said. “They each have their own character and characters.
“It’s a ministry of service… you don’t know what’s going to happen on any one day. It’s quite exciting.
“You are there to be with the people, to pray with the people, to serve the people.”
Archbishop-elect Tony is not short of academic achievements having obtained a Licentiate in Moral Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, and a Master of Arts degree in Spirituality and a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Angelicum in Rome.
Archbishop-elect Ireland has been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne since his elevation to the episcopate in 2021. Photo: Archdiocese of Melbourne
His favourite theologian is St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor.
“The Church teaches us in the Optatam totius number 16, the decree on priestly formation of the Second Vatican Council, that we are to sit at the feet of Thomas. He’s the master theologian who takes the full gamut of theological inquiry.
“He’s a theologian who does theology on his knees, as it were. He’s a prayerful theologian… In his lifetime, the people of Naples and the Dominican confreres would see him weeping at Mass.
“His Eucharistic hymns come from a heart full of love for the Eucharist.”
Archbishop-elect Tony also served in several roles at Corpus Christi College in Melbourne including as Dean of Studies and Rector from 2006 to 2009. He said priestly formation should revolve around the four pillars stipulated by Pope St John Paul II—human formation, spiritual formation, academic formation, and pastoral formation.
“The priest has to be a good human being,” he said. “Some of the troubles in the Church have been when they haven’t been good human beings.
“He must be approachable, generous with his time. He’s got to be willing to serve rather than be served. He must have the eyes of the Good Samaritan to see the needs of others, and also have the heart of the Samaritan woman who was willing to be refreshed with the springs of living water offered by the Saviour.
“He’s also got to be a person of prayer and spirituality, being ready to be refreshed by the Lord.”
His vocational journey to the priesthood was one of being “chosen” Archbishop-elect Tony said. Photo: Archdiocese of Melbourne
His appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in 2021 came just weeks after his brother Greg passed away, and for that reason was a moment of “mixed feelings” he said.
It was also during the strange times of the COVID lockdowns in Melbourne. The social distancing requirements meant only 100 guests could be invited to his ordination Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral on 31 July 2021. He recalls that it was none-the-less a joyous occasion.
“It was very affirming… people were genuinely happy that I had been appointed.”
He adopted as his episcopal motto, ‘Confirm, strengthen and support’ (1 Peter 5:10).
Reading the full context of the First Letter of Peter, chapter five, Archbishop-elect Tony said it refers to God’s promise to look after his people.
“The Lord is the one who will confirm, strengthen and support you.
“And if a bishop or priest is to walk in the footsteps of the Lord and to follow his way, then he is called to confirm, strengthen and support the people.”
A born-and-bred Melburnian, Archbishop-elect Tony will bring with him to Tasmania his passion for AFL and his beloved Bombers, the team bearing the “colours of a bishop’s soutane”. Although he also stated he had, “paid for a foundational membership of the Tassie Devils.”
“And if they get off the ground, and onto a ground, I would want to be a member of the Devils,” he added.
Archbishop-elect Tony said he was looking forward to arriving in Tasmania and taking up his new role.
“I’m coming to serve, I’m coming to love the people,” he said.
“I’m very much looking forward to being among you.”
With thanks to Catherine Sheehan and the Archdiocese of Hobart, where this article originally appeared.
