PORT PIRIE (S.A.): 27 November - The Holy See has appointed a local country priest to be the new bishop of one of Australia's largest
dioceses. The Parish Priest of Whyalla (a South Australian
provincial city), Father Eugene Hurley, has been named as the next
bishop of the Port Pirie Diocese.
Father Hurley was born in the mid-north town of Orroroo and grew up
in Carrieton. He attended primary school at Orroroo and was educated by the Marist Brothers at Sacred Heart College in Adelaide. After studies at St.Francis Xavier Seminary, Eugene Hurley was ordained to the priesthood at Port Pirie Cathedral by Bishop Bryan Gallagher in 1964.
Father Hurley has served at the parishes of Port Lincoln, Port
Pirie, Cummins, and Whyalla. He was involved in the Catholic Society for Marriage Education and catholic media in the Port Pirie diocese.
He was appointed by the late Bishop De Campo to head the Diocesan Jubilee Commission. He was also the spokesperson on matters of moral theology.
The bishop-elect would like it to be known has played cricket for many years and is keen on sport. He acknowledges the deep faith of his family and the support of his fellow priests of the diocese. Father Hurley has asked for prayers for himself and the diocese as it moves forward.
Father Hurley will become the 9th bishop of the diocese and marks a
break in tradition. Recent history has seen a bishop come from
outside the diocesan boundaries. Bishop De Campo was vicar general of the Diocese of Sandhurst (Vic.) before being apointed to Port Pirie in 1980. Other bishops of Port Pirie have included Bryan Gallagher (1952-1980), Thomas McCabe (1938-1951), John Lonergan, 8 January 1938; died 13 July 1930 before receiving Episcopal Ordination, and Norman Gilroy (1935-1937).
Fr Joe Lee
Saint Marks College
Bosco Campus
Port Pirie
South Australia
jlee@stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au