Australia’s newest Archbishop, Archbishop Anthony Ireland, has been installed in Hobart on Tuesday, promising to be a shepherd and ambassador of Christ, for the people of Tasmania.
Archbishop Ireland was installed at St Mary’s Cathedral, Hobart, with Mass celebrated by His Eminence, Cardinal Mykola Bychok CSsR, Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Balvo, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, and Archbishop Emeritus of Hobart, Julian Porteous.
The Mass was attended by 600 people, including bishops, clergy and lay people. Bishop Anthony Randazzo, Bishop of Broken Bay, was also present.
At the beginning of the Mass, the Apostolic Nuncio read out the Papal Bull, declaring Pope Leo XIV’s appointment of Archbishop Ireland as Archbishop of Hobart.
In his homily during the Mass, Archbishop Ireland said he was excited to walk together with the people of Tasmania as their shepherd.
“From convict chaplaincies to schools and parishes scattered across this island, Tasmania’s Catholic story has been one of quiet fidelity, courageous perseverance, and grace upon grace,” he said.
“So let us walk together—bishop, clergy, religious, and lay faithful. Let us be a Church of the Upper Room: Spirit-filled, alive with joy, and bearing peace.
“As we turn the page and write a new chapter in Tasmania’s Catholic story, may we walk as pilgrims of hope—and with our lives, sing the praise of God from whom all blessings flow.”
In his address following the Mass, Archbishop Ireland spoke of his ancestor, John Carey Ireland, a convict from England who was transported to Tasmania in 1824 for “petty larceny”.
“Two hundred and one years after John’s arrival, I stand before you—thankfully not in shackles, but in hope—as a shepherd of the Church and an ambassador for Jesus Christ in this place,” he said.
Archbishop Ireland was born in Melbourne and grew up in a devoutly Catholic household. Prior to joining the seminary, he worked for National Australia Bank and the City of Hawthorn.
He was ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of Melbourne on 19 September 1987. In 1990, he went to Rome to study Moral and Spiritual Theology, graduating from the Pontifical University of S. Thomas Aquinas in Rome where his doctorate was awarded Summa cum Laude.
He served in various parishes across the Archdiocese before being appointed Auxiliary Bishop by Pope Francis in 2021.
Archbishop Emeritus Julian Porteous had served as Archbishop of Hobart since 2013. Despite originally being from Sydney, Archbishop Porteous said he will remain resident in Hobart during his retirement and continue to serve the People of God in Tasmania as needed.