Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2022
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has welcomed the appointment by Pope Leo XIV this evening of a new Archbishop of Brisbane.
The Most Reverend Shane Mackinlay is currently Bishop of Sandhurst, in regional Victoria.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, welcomed the appointment.
“The Archbishop-elect’s pastoral experience in his home diocese of Ballarat, and his leadership of the diocese of Sandhurst, together with his strong academic background, will stand him in good stead as he takes up the new challenge of pastoral leadership in the Archdiocese of Brisbane,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“So, too, will be his significant contribution to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue which has been a particular feature of his contribution to the work of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.”
Archbishop Costelloe said Bishop Mackinlay had played a significant role as vice president of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia and a delegate to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
“We pray that Bishop Mackinlay will help empower the people of Brisbane to discover and use their gifts, inspire them with a vision of what the Church can be, and provide new opportunities and resources for all to encounter Christ,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
Bishop Mackinlay was born in Melbourne in 1965 and grew up in Ballarat where he graduated dux of St Patrick’s College in 1982.
“I am deeply honoured by Pope Leo’s decision to appoint me as Archbishop of Brisbane – a diocese that has such a strong tradition of fostering the liturgical, spiritual, evangelising and educational endeavours of the Catholic community, both within the Archdiocese and more broadly,” Bishop Mackinlay said.
He studied for the priesthood at Corpus Christi College, Clayton, completing theology studies at Catholic Theological College and a degree in physics at Monash University.
As a deacon, he served in the parish of Warrnambool, before being ordained as priest for the Ballarat Diocese in 1991, and serving in the parishes of Hamilton, Colac and Ballarat Cathedral.
He then undertook graduate studies in philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, where he completed a Master’s degree and a Doctorate. His doctoral thesis was published by Fordham University Press.
Bishop Mackinlay served in parish ministry as well as teaching at Australian Catholic University, Ballarat, and Catholic Theological College, Melbourne, where he was appointed Master in 2011.
The following year he was appointed Associate Professor by the University of Divinity.
From 2012 to 2014 he was the spokesperson for the Church during the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations.
Pope Francis appointed Bishop Mackinlay as the eighth Bishop of Sandhurst in July 2019.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge is retiring after 13 years in the Archdiocese of Brisbane and over 51 years as a priest.
“For many reasons I welcome the appointment of Bishop Shane Mackinlay as my successor in Brisbane where he will be a distinguished addition to the line of Archbishops,” Archbishop Coleridge said.
“He is an experienced pastor who knows how to listen—attuned both to the big picture and the practical details.
“That combination makes him a capable administrator, well-suited to lead a diocese as large and complex as Brisbane.
“I have no doubt he will bring exceptional gifts and fresh energies to the Archdiocese of Brisbane, where he will be creative in pursuing the path of synodality into the future God is preparing. I am grateful to Pope Leo for this wise choice of a new Archbishop.”