BRISBANE archdiocese’s apostolic administrator Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett has warmly welcomed the announcement of the appointment by Pope Benedict XVI of the Archbishop Mark Coleridge as Metropolitan Archbishop of Brisbane.
“Archbishop Coleridge already is a distinguished leader in the Church in Australia, and his appointment to Brisbane will be of great significance for the archdiocese and the Catholic Church and community in Queensland,” Bishop Jarrett said.
Bishop Jarrett and Brisbane archdiocese’s former leader Archbishop Emeritus John Bathersby spoke of relationships with Archbishop Coleridge going back to the 1970s.
Bishop Jarrett said he had known the archbishop since he was a seminarian.
“I was a young priest in Hobart at that point,” he said.
“He’s a very quick thinker on his feet – always having the right word and right phrase on the spur of the moment.
“He’s also a marvellous teacher and can teach and explain the scriptures with tremendous clarity.”
Archbishop Bathersby, speaking from Stanthorpe, said he and Archbishop-designate Coleridge “had been good mates for a long time”.
“I met Mark Coleridge when he was a brand new priest in Melbourne in 1974 and I was spiritual director at Banyo Seminary,” he said.
“He immediately came across as a highly intelligent man and one who would always have his say.
“Later we had a lot to do with each other during our studies in Rome where we both studied together at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
“I know him to be an excellent theologian and a superb, and it must be said, courageous speaker.
“He is a great leader and a man of deep faith with a marvellous sense of humour.”
As apostolic administrator, Bishop Jarrett continues in office as arrangements are made to welcome the Archbishop-elect and the plans are completed for Archbishop Coleridge’s installation in St Stephen’s Cathedral on May 11.
