Monsignor Stuart Hall has been appointed Bishop of the Australian Military Ordinariate, which has been without a permanent ordinary since early 2021.
Pope Leo XIV made the appointment on Friday, 3 July, with his consecration set to take place in the next few months.
Monsignor Hall served for 22 years as a Navy chaplain in in naval establishments throughout Australia and aboard fleet units, deploying on operational service, including to Timor-Leste and the Middle East. He currently serves as the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne.
Reacting to the appointment, Monsignor Hall said he was looking forward to shepherding the Catholic community within the Australian Defence Force.
“The ADF and its members are being called on to respond to many crises in this volatile global environment, but we must remember they are real people with real names and faces and there are real effects on serving families and veterans,” he said.
“It is important we understand the pressures they are under and for the Church to provide the presence of Christ in their service to the nation and their family life.”
Formally known as the Catholic Diocese of the Australian Military Services, the Military Ordinariate was established in 1969 as a vicarate and was elevated to an ordinariate with its own bishop in 1984.
Monsignor Hall will become the third Bishop of the Military Ordinariate. The previous ordinary, Bishop Max Davis, retired in May 2021, meaning the Ordinariate has been without a permanent bishop for more than five years.
Monsignor Hall was born in Melbourne on 21 August 1962. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Melbourne on 19 September 1987.
He served as assistant priest in a number of parishes across the Archdiocese before commencing service with the Royal Australia Navy as a reservist chaplain in 1991, before joining permanently in 1994. In 2011, he was created a Prelate of Honour by Pope Benedict XVI and given the title of Monsignor.
In 2016, he was appointed parish priest of East Malvern, serving there until 2022, when he was appointed Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, welcomed the appointment.
“The appointment to oversee the pastoral care of military chaplains is a recognition of the vital ministry they provide to the men and women who serve our nation,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“Military chaplains accompany people in moments of challenge, sacrifice and uncertainty, offering spiritual support, hope and the compassionate presence of Christ.
“I am confident Bishop-elect Hall’s leadership, wisdom and pastoral experience will strengthen this important mission and ensure that those serving in the Australian Defence Force continue to receive dedicated spiritual care.”
A date for Monsignor Hall's episcopal consecration has not yet been announced but is expected to occur within the next three months.
