The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has welcomed the appointment by Pope Leo XIV of a new apostolic administrator of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross.

Bishop Steven Lopes, Bishop Ordinary of the United States-based Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, as the Apostolic Administrator of OLSC Australia.

He will replace Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, who has been appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts and will move to Rome in June.

Based in Houston, Texas, Bishop Lopes is a former official of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, and secretary to the Cardinal Prefect.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, welcomed the appointment of Bishop Lopes.

“We look forward to working closely with Bishop Lopes as he supports the faithful of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, building on the foundations laid in 2012,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

He said Bishop Lopes would bring “deep experience of the Ordinariate and a strong pastoral heart”.

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia serves groups of Anglicans who desire full communion with the Catholic Church in Australia and Asia. It has congregations across Australia and has a presence New Zealand, Guam, Japan and Philippines.

The formal announcement from the Vatican can be found here: Resignations and Appointments

(Image of Bishop Lopes sourced from Our Bishop | Saint Timothys Ordinariate Catholic Church)