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Pope Leo XIV has tonight appointed Bishop of Broken Bay Anthony Randazzo as the Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts.
The appointment to the Roman Curia is accompanied by the conferral of the title Archbishop and nomination as the Apostolic Administrator of the Broken Bay diocese.
The Dicastery for Legislative Texts is the Vatican body responsible for interpreting Church laws and ensuring their correct application worldwide.
Archbishop Randazzo was appointed the fourth Bishop of Broken Bay in October 2019.
Born in Sydney, he grew up in Queensland and studied at the Pius XII Provincial Seminary and the University of Queensland.
He was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Brisbane in 1991.
Following parish and diocesan responsibilities in Brisbane, he moved to Rome where he gained qualifications in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He would later work for five years at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Upon returning to Australia, Archbishop Randazzo served as rector of Queensland’s Holy Spirit Seminary before becoming an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Sydney in 2016.
He was a member of the Permanent Committee of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and chair of the Conference’s Episcopal Panel for Canon Law.
He is also currently President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) and the Apostolic Administrator of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, welcomed the appointment.
“Archbishop Randazzo’s formation and long experience in canon law has been a profound gift to the Church,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“His expertise and guidance in the area of canon law has been invaluable in the work of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.
“He understands canon law as a tool to be exercised in the service of the Gospel and the pastoral good of the Church.
“We offer our prayers for him as he takes on this important ministry in the Roman Curia.”