The editor has invited me to paint a word picture of the contribution of Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP to the church in Sydney and to the wider society, against the background of the contributions of his eight predecessors.
A brief survey of more than 200 years can only highlight some of the main themes, relevant to each archbishop, understood within the historical and cultural context of the time.
The church is a pilgrim church. This community of faith carries the joys and sorrows, successes and failures, hopes and disappointments of each generation.
Each of Archbishop Fisher’s predecessors responded in his own way to the social circumstances of the time, influenced by the prevailing understanding of the church and its role in society.
It may be convenient to consider the archbishops in four groups of two.
The first two archbishops, John Bede Polding (1834 – 1877) and Roger Bede Vaughan (1877 – 1883) were English Benedictines. They had to deal with the expectations of a predominantly Irish community. Many commentators refer to their “Benedictine Dream” centred on an abbey at St Mary’s Cathedral. This did not eventuate in the way they may have hoped, but the community of Benedictine Sisters at Jamberoo is a reminder of their legacy. Each saw the value of education and promoted schools as part of the pastoral strategy of the local church, a resource that has endured.
The next two Irish archbishops, Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran (1884 – 1911) and Archbishop Michael Kelly (1911 – 1940) presided over a major expansion of the church, especially with the influx of religious orders to conduct schools and other charitable institutions. Their domineering statues overlook the forecourt of Saint Mary’s Cathedral.
Cardinal Moran’s grand vision of an educational institution for missionary priests to serve Southeast Asia did not come to pass but the sandstone edifice of St Patricks Seminary on North Head stands as a monument to the triumphal and confident vision of the church of that time.
Archbishop Kelly contended with the consequences of the First World War, the Great Depression and the beginning of the Second World War. He is a particularly noted for his energetic expansion of the archdiocesan infrastructure. A survey of the inner-city churches and schools in Sydney reveal numerous foundation stones with a simple reference to + Michael.
The third pair are the Australian-born Cardinal Sir Norman Thomas Gilroy (1940 – 1971) and Cardinal Sir James Darcy Freeman (1971 – 1983). Cardinal Gilroy saw the church flourish in the immediate post war years with the baby boom and extensive migration from many parts of Catholic Europe. His support for chaplains to minister to those migrant communities still finds expression in many of the distinctive ethnic groupings in modern day Sydney. Cardinal Freeman, a man of upmost simplicity and of distinctive eloquence had to contend with the rapid expansion of Sydney to the west and southwest and the challenges of implementing the Second Vatican Council.
It was for his successor Cardinal Edward Bede Clancy (1983 – 2001) to reorganise the administration of the church in Sydney, establishing the two new dioceses of Broken Bay and Parramatta. Cardinal Clancy’s foresight also allowed for the establishment of the new thriving parishes in Sydney’s expanding south-west. He relocated the seminary from Manly to Homebush and set up the Catholic Development Fund to streamline a more efficient financial administration.
The relocation of the then Archbishop of Melbourne, Cardinal George Pell (2001 – 2014) to Sydney surprised many. He readily adopted the new city as his home. His enthusiasm for ministry to youth, the future of the church, and his close link to Pope Benedict XVI paved the way for Sydney to host World Youth Day in 2008.
His prescient nomination of his then auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher to lead WYD set the scene, after a brief time as Bishop of Parramatta, for his eventual appointment to succeed Cardinal Pell.
The church that Archbishop Fisher serves, no longer has the plethora of priests that staffed Cardinal Gilroy’s parishes, although green shoots show promise. The stable financial resources established by his predecessors allow for new and imaginative expansion of evangelisation and ministry. The rampant secularisation of society, and dismissal of the church from the public square in the attitude of many, is calling on his Dominican tradition to scholarship, to persevere in preaching truth with love. We can look forward to his steadfast leadership as we prepare for the international eucharistic congress in 2028.
Fr Brian Lucas is currently National Director of Catholic Mission and was Archdiocesan Secretary (1990 – 2002) and is President of the Australian Catholic Historical Society.
