Bishop George Kolodziej SDS was ordained and installed as the fifth Bishop of Bunbury in a joyous occasion joined by hundreds of people across the country on the 19 March Solemnity of St Joseph.
Addressing the congregation at the end of the Mass, Bishop Kolodziej seemed moved as he quoted from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always,” words he has chosen for his motto as bishop.
“My heart rejoices today. I thank you for being here and I ask for your prayers, that I may be a faithful servant of the Lord and dedicated bishop for this diocese,” Bishop Kolodziej said.
He described the region’s “extraordinary” natural beauty and said the Lord was near to all who live within it.
The bishop said the church at Bunbury had the opportunity to share the Good News and “open our doors and our hearts to those who live here and those to visit us and to remove any barrier that might prevent someone from encountering the love of God.”
“That requires more than waiting for people to come to us. We must go forth—we are a missionary church called to reach out to every place, every periphery, to share God’s love,” he said.
Among those leading the celebration at St Patrick’s Cathedral in the coastal city south of Perth was Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB, who compared the new bishop to the earthly spouse of Our Lady.
“St Joseph was certainly close to God, open and attentive to all that God asked of him, no matter how confusing or daunting God’s plan for him seemed to be,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“When he awoke from his troubling dreams, the scriptures tell us, he did what the angel told him, acting decisively and courageously.
“Bishop George has done the very same. When he ‘awoke’—that is when he recovered from the shock of [Apostolic Nuncio] Archbishop Balvo’s phone call—he did what the Lord was asking, through the request of Pope Francis.
“He said yes to the pope’s invitation to become your bishop.”
Archbishop Costelloe thanked all who supported him as the diocese’s apostolic administrator since 2022 and asked them to pray that the “fatherliness” of St Joseph “will be a source of inspiration and hope” as Bishop Kolodziej begins his new ministry.
Also at the Mass were Archbishop Balvo, bishops from across Australia, members of the clergy from the dioceses of Perth and Bunbury, as well as family, friends and other guests from overseas and around the country.
Representatives of other churches were among the religious and civic leaders present in the packed cathedral, while up to 400 people watched on via a livestream.
The 56-year-old bishop, whose second name is Joseph, was born in Dobra in Poland and has been the superior of the Salvatorians in Australia since October 2018.
Bishop Kolodziej directed the Salvatorian Spirituality Centre in Perth and is a member of the Council of Catholic Religious Australia, as well as serving as a chaplain for Catholic Education Western Australia.
Ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, Archbishop of Krakow, in 1994, he was sent to the Australian region of the Salvatorians, where he undertook pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Perth and the Diocese of Bunbury.
Having served in the parish of Greenmount and Chisholm Catholic College, he was elected Vice Superior of the Salvatorian Region of Australia in December 1999.
In December 2000, Fr George began ministry in the Diocese of Broken Bay, serving as school chaplain at St Leo’s Catholic College (2001-2008), assistant priest at Pymble Parish (2001-2003), East Gosford Parish (2003-2008), and later parish priest of Pittwater Parish (2008–2018).
With almost 30 parishes and about 60,000 Catholics the Diocese of Bunbury spans the south-western parts of Western Australia is said to include some of the country’s fastest growing population centres.