Archbishop Mark Coleridge has congratulated Monsignor Anthony Randazzo on his appointment as an Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, admitting he would be “much missed” in Brisbane.
Archbishop Coleridge was in transit from Rome when Pope Francis announced at the weekend that Monsignor Randazzo, pictured above, and Father Richard Umbers would become Auxiliary Bishops of Sydney.
“We in Brisbane join as one in praising God and congratulating Anthony,” Archbishop Coleridge said today in a statement sent across the Archdiocese.
“He will be much missed in the Archdiocese where he has given fine priestly service through the years and in the Province of Queensland which he has served so well as Rector of Holy Spirit Seminary in more recent times.
“But the Church is bigger than the Archdiocese, and so we offer him gladly for his new ministry in Sydney.”
Bishop-elect Randazzo was born in Sydney and moved to the Gold Coast as a school student.
Archbishop Coleridge said Bishop-elect Randazzo had previously excelled away from Brisbane, equipping him for his new role in Sydney.
“Monsignor Randazzo is no stranger to service in other climes. He was called from Brisbane to serve the Holy See in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and he managed that shift with faith and generosity, energy and love of the Church,” Archbishop Coleridge said.
“Those same gifts will help him make this new shift not only to the episcopate but to the Archdiocese of Sydney.
“He has moved far from Brisbane and does so again now. But he will always remain one of ours and will take south the many graces of this Archdiocese, a child of Sydney which now returns one of its own for service there.
“Our prayers go with Monsignor Randazzo, not only as he prepares for Episcopal Ordination on 24 August but as he looks to the ministry which awaits him beyond Ordination.”