The Archdiocese of Perth will gain a third bishop after the Holy Father appointed Fr Nelson Po as an auxiliary bishop to the large Archdiocese.
The 57-year-old priest has been Parish Priest of Applecross since 2016 and recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of his ordination. He will serve alongside Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and and Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton
Fr Nelson said the appointment had taken him by surprise and that he had "never dreamed" of becoming a bishop.
“It was a big surprise to me. It was overwhelming and surreal because I have never dreamed of becoming a bishop," he said.
"I went straight to the chapel and became very emotional. I felt so inadequate and unworthy, but I know that God’s strength will carry me through.”
Fr Nelson was born on 5 June 1968 in the village of Cantuhaon,
Palompon, Leyte, Philippines, as the third of Norma Abordo and Lope Po’s six
children.
Following his secondary education, he completed a bachelor’s
degree in industrial and management engineering. Following several years
working in his chosen profession, he entered the Blessed Sacrament Congregation
where he completed a master’s degree in theology, with a major in pastoral ministry,
at the Maryhill School of Theology, Manila.
In 2003, at the invitation of Archbishop Hickey, he arrived
in Perth to continue his studies for the priesthood at St Charles Seminary,
Guildford, as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Perth.
Fr Nelson was ordained on Friday, 9 December 2005 at St Mary's Cathedral, Perth by Archbishop Barry James Hickey for the Archdiocese of Perth along with eight other priests.
Following his ordination to the priesthood in 2005, Fr Nelson served as an assistant priest in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder parish before his subsequent appointments as Chaplain to Royal Perth Hospital and as parish priest of the Cloverdale and Applecross parishes.
“The Holy Father’s appointment of Fr Nelson will be greeted with great joy and excitement by the whole Catholic community of the archdiocese,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“The laity, religious and clergy of the archdiocese have been gifted with a new and dynamic shepherd who will bring many gifts to the pastoral leadership of the Archdiocese of Perth.”
The new appointment reflects the changing face of the Australian Catholic Church, with priests from the Philippines, Vietnam and Poland becoming bishops across the nation. Of the last seven episcopal appointments in Australia, four have been born overseas.
The episcopal ordination of Bishop-elect Nelson will take place on a date to be determined following the Easter Triduum.