austraLasia #1878

Ordination of Bishop Tim Costelloe SDB, auxiliary of Melbourne
Titular See: Clonard (Cluain Iraird or Eraird's Meadow, Co. Meath)

MELBOURNE: 15th June 2007 -- On Friday, June 15th, Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick in Melbourne, Australia, was filled to overflowing for the Episcopal Ordination of the Most Rev. Peter Elliott and the Most Rev. Tim Costelloe SDB.  Both new bishops will be auxiliaries in Melbourne, numerically the largest diocese in Australia.
    Prior to his ordination as a bishop, Tim Costelloe has held a number of positions in the Australian Province, which covers a large part of the South Pacific as well, and most recently has been Rector of the Formatioin House, Parish Priest of two adjacent parishes, Provincial Councillor and Provincial Delegate for Formation.
    The principal consecrator at the ordination was Archbishop Denis Hart, Archbishop of Melbourne. He was joined by the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Ambrose De Paoli, and Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney. Over twenty bishops and more than two hundred priests concelebrated the ordination Mass, while the Salesian Provincial, Fr Frank Moloney, read Bishop COstelloe's papal letter of appointment and assisted him throughout the ceremony.
    In his homily, Archbishop Hart spoke of the contribution which Bishop Costelloe has made to the Archdiocese as a teacher of theology, a spiritual director for the diocesan seminarians and a retreat preacher. He also spoke of the important role which the two bishops will play in fostering the unity of the Church in Melbourne, and its communion with the wider Church.
    After the ordination a reception was held in an adjacent hotel, where the two bishops were able to spend time with their families, friends and colleagues.
    Given the new bishop Tim's long association with education and schooling, his assigned Titular See, Cluain-Iraird (Clonard), Co. Meath, Ireland, is significant. It is famous for the so-called 'Twelve Apostles of Erin' or the twelve Irish holy men who represent as many as 3,000 scholars who studied at the open-air school set up on Eraird's Meadow by St Finian in 520.   
    The new bishop holds a Bachelor of Theology from the Melbourne College of Divinity, a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Salesian University (Rome), and a Doctorate of Theology from the Melbourne College of Divinity, examining the theology of ordained ministry of John Paul II. He taught systematic theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia (Fremantle) and at Murdoch University, Western Australia before returning to Melbourne to teach at the Catholic Theological College. His main academic interests are Mariology and the theology of the ordained ministry.
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