A new National Centre for Evangelisation (NCE) is being established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.  It will bring together the work of the Catholic Enquiry Centre and the National Office for Evangelisation.

The Bishops Commission for Evangelisation made the announcement on Thursday 2 June 2016.

Launching the new Centre, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Chair of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, said that ‘we’re trying to bring the old and the new together in a fresh configuration’.

The priorities of the new National Centre for Evangelisation (NCE) include further developing the work carried out by the Catholic Enquiry Centre and the National Office for Evangelisation.

The Catholic Enquiry Centre (CEC) was founded in 1959 to offer an invitation to all who are not Catholic to learn about and understand the Catholic faith through the promotion of courses and activities that seek to evangelise unbelievers. It will continue to operate within the new National Centre for Evangelisation.

The National Office for Evangelisation (NOE) has assisted dioceses with resources and opportunities for training and evangelisation and sought new ways of proclaiming the Gospel.

The National Office for Evangelisation has promoted the sharing of the Good News in families, workplaces, parishes and schools and through the media.  It had also created networks across Catholic organisations, including diocesan-based groups for the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA).

‘The NCE will bring together the CEC and the NOE in a new way as the Catholic Church enters more deeply and deliberately on the synodal journey that Pope Francis began with the two Synods on marriage and family,’ Archbishop Coleridge said.

‘The new Centre will help bridge the gap between the traditional means of communicating with Catholics and others and the fresh opportunities opened up by digital media.’

The position of director of the new National Centre for Evangelisation will soon be advertised. Once the appointment is made, the director will work with the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation to determine the location of the new centre.