AUSTRALIA’S general secretary to the country’s Catholic bishops will be closing his notebook to take up a new role facilitating mission work in Australasia.
Fr Brian Lucas, who has spent the past 25 years in the role supporting the national initiatives of Australia’s Catholic bishops, has been appointed national director of Catholic Mission.
Fr Lucas takes over from Martin Teulan, the first lay Catholic to head the Australian Pontifical Mission Society, who had resigned to take up a new position.
“I have spent 25 years in Church bureaucracy as well as serving in more specialised pastoral roles such as St Mary’s Cathedral and in Canberra at Calvary Hospital and with the Missionaries of Charity and the Carmelites,” Fr Lucas said.
“I was well into my third five-year term as general secretary and change and ‘fresh blood’ is important for any organisation, so it was also a case of seeing what would be my next appointment.
“I have now wide experience of the Church in Australia so it seemed a good fit to step in after the previous national director took another position.”
Fr Lucas said he expected to build on “the good work done already and see what new opportunities might present”.
He said Australians had played various roles in allowing missions to happen in both Australia and overseas.
“Australian Catholics have traditionally been very generous in their support for the work of missions and I see the role of Catholic Mission as essential in facilitating a spirit of missionary fervour,” he said.
“Some are able to make generous financial contribution to the missions while for others their prayerful support or voluntary participation is equally valuable.”
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Denis Hart welcomed the announcement, and said Fr Lucas would be responsible for “expanding the faith in many countries”.
“Father Lucas has given his considerable skills, expertise, hard work and giftedness to serve the bishops as general secretary since August 2002 and we recognise the immense contribution which he has made to many areas of Church life in Australia,” Archbishop Hart said.
“We thank him for his service and extend our prayers and wishes for his important new role.”
Fr Lucas will move to Sydney from his current home in Canberra following the November plenary meeting of the bishops’ conference.
New mission: Former general secretary to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Fr Brian Lucas has been appointed the national director of Catholic Mission.
– Emilie Ng
