Bishop Peter Comensoli, the Bishop of Broken Bay, has been appointed by Pope Francis to succeed Archbishop Denis Hart as Archbishop of Melbourne.
A letter from Archbishop Hart to members and organisations of the Archdiocese announced the appointment of Bishop Comensoli.
Peter Andrew Comensoli was born in the Illawarra region of NSW on 25 March, 1964, the fourth son and last child of Mick and Margaret Comensoli. He was baptised at St John Vianney Church, Fairy Meadow, in the Diocese of Wollongong. He received all his sacraments of Christian Initiation, as well as priestly Ordination, at the parish. Educated by the Good Samaritan Sisters at St John Vianney Primary School, and by the Marist Fathers at St Paul’s College, Bellambi, Peter Comensoli worked for four years in the banking sector, while studying Commerce at Wollongong University. He commenced his studies for the priesthood at St Patrick’s College, Manly in 1986 and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Wollongong on 22 May 1992. During his time in the Diocese of Wollongong Fr Comensoli served as Assistant Priest and then Administrator in a number of parishes, and was Diocesan Chancellor for six years. On 20 April 2011, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, and ordained to the Episcopate on 8 June 2011 at St Mary’s Cathedral. In March 2014, Bishop Comensoli was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Sydney, until the appointment of the new Archbishop of Sydney in November 2014. On 20 November 2014, he was appointed the third Bishop of the Diocese of Broken Bay, and installed at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, Waitara on Friday 12 December 2014. At the national level, Bishop Comensoli is currently a member of the Bishops’ Commissions for Family, Youth, and Life, and for Evangelisation, with a particular focus on life matters, euthanasia and media. From November 2018 he will take up the appointment of Chair of the Bishops’ Commission for Life, Family and Public Engagement, and a member of the Bishops’ Commission for the Plenary Council. At the Province level, he is currently a Board Director of Catholic Schools NSW. Bishop Comensoli holds a Bachelor of Theology (1989) and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (1991) from the Catholic Institute of Sydney. He holds a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL) in moral theology from the Accademia Alfonsiana (2000), a Master of Letters (MLitt) in moral philosophy from the University of St Andrews (2007), and a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in theological ethics from the University of Edinburgh (2011). He is the author of ‘In God’s Image: Recognizing the Profoundly Impaired as Persons’, as well as a number of articles in the area of disability and Christian anthropology. His Episcopal motto is: Praedicamus Christum crucifixum (‘We proclaim a crucified Christ’ – 1 Cor 1.23).
Last reviewed June 30, 2018.
