The Archdiocese of Brisbane leadership consists of Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Bishop Ken Howell and Vicar General Monsignor Peter Meneely.
- Archbishop Mark Coleridge
Archbishop Mark Coleridge
Author: Archdiocese of BrisbaneArchbishop Mark Benedict Coleridge is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge
Please see our Archbishop section for more information about Archbishop Mark Coleridge including his biography, past homilies, pastoral messages and more.
- Bishop Ken Howell
Bishop Ken Howell
Author: Archdiocese of BrisbaneBorn in 1958, Bishop Ken Howell was educated at St James College, Fortitude Valley, and joined Queensland Rail after his school years working as a clerk in the Chief Engineers Office.
Bishop Ken Howell
In 1977, he entered Pius XII Regional Seminary, and he was ordained a Priest on 24 June 1983. From 1983 to 1994, he worked as Assistant Priest in the Parishes of Noosa Districts, Burleigh Heads and the Cathedral, Brisbane.
Between 1994 and 1997, he completed a Licentiate in Sacred Liturgy at the Pontifical Institute Sant’Anselmo in Rome. He served as Secretary to the then Archbishop John Bathersby from 1997 to 2010. During this time, Bishop Howell served at the Cathedral as Associate Pastor and Director of Worship from 1997 to 2005, Dean of the Cathedral between 2006 and 2012 and as Vice Rector of the Holy Spirit Seminary between 2002 and 2008. In 2009, he took on a concurrent appointment as Administrator of St Mary’s Parish, South Brisbane.
In 2013 he became the Parish Priest at Burleigh Heads. The Bishop has been a long-standing member of the Council of Priests and Chairman from 2008 to 2013. He is also a member of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission, which he was chairing at the time of his appointment by Pope Francis on March 29, 2017.
At the time of that announcement Bishop Howell said he looked to the future with confidence “with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the love and prayers of the people of God who have supported my ministry”.
“I ask you to pray for me as I accept the invitation of our Holy Father to serve the Church as a member of the College of Bishops”.
Bishop Howell’s Episcopal Ordination was held on June 14, 2017.
- Vicar General Monsignor Peter Meneely
Vicar General Monsignor Peter Meneely
Author: Archdiocese of BrisbaneThe Vicar General of the Archdiocese is the Rev Msgr Peter Meneely VG who was appointed by Archbishop Bathersby as the Moderator of the Curia in 2000. Archbishop Coleridge appointed Fr Meneely as Vicar General of the Archdiocese from June 2012.
Monsignor Peter Meneely
The main focus of the office is to represent the Archbishop in overseeing the work of the various departments and Church offices within the Archdiocesan Curia. The role also involves providing an executive capacity to the Archbishop for the carrying out of his extensive range of responsibilities.
As guided by Canon Law, the priest appointed to the Office is to be known for his sound doctrine, integrity, prudence and practical experience (Canon 478 §1).
A further canon provides that the Vicar General possesses, by virtue of his Office, the same executive power as the Bishop throughout the whole diocese as belongs by law to the Bishop. This means that the Vicar General can perform all administrative acts as the Bishop does, with the exception of those administrative acts which the Bishop has reserved to himself, or which by law requires a special mandate of the Bishop (Canon 479 §1).
