In Christ's name , province = , diocese = Sandhurst , see = , enthroned = 1 March 2012 , ended = 23 July 2019 , predecessor =

Joseph Grech Joseph Angelo Grech (10 December 1948 – 28 December 2010

Shane Mackinlay Shane Anthony Mackinlay (born 5 June 1965) is an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Bishop of Sandhurst since 2019. He was the master of Catholic Theological College in Melbourne from 2010 to 2019. Biography Shane Mackin ...

, ordination = 18 August 1972 in
St Joseph's Church, Red Cliffs , consecration = 17 June 2009 in

St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of Saint Patrick (colloquially St Patrick's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Peter Comensoli. ...

, cardinal = , rank = , other_post = , birth_name = Leslie Rogers Tomlinson , birth_date = , birth_place =

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area h ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia , death_date = , death_place = , buried = , nationality = Australian , religion =

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, residence = , parents = Edward Tomlinson and Alice Tomlinson (née Rogers) , spouse = , children = , occupation =

Roman Catholic bishop In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the Ch ...

, profession = Cleric , alma_mater = St Paul’s National Seminary, Sydney , signature = Leslie Rogers "Les" Tomlinson (born 27 August 1943) was an Australian Catholic bishop. On 3 February 2012, it was announced that Pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

had appointed Tomlinson as the seventh Bishop of Sandhurst. He was installed on 1 March 2012. He was formerly an auxiliary bishop and Vicar General in the

Archdiocese of Melbourne The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is a Latin Rite metropolitan archdiocese in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Erected initially in 1847 as the Diocese of Melbourne, a suffragan diocese of Archdiocese of Sydney, the diocese was el ...

Early career and background

Tomlinson was born in

. He was educated at Sacred Heart School and St Joseph's College, Mildura. He undertook clerical work in Irymple and Melbourne prior to commencing studies for the priesthood at Corpus Christi College Werribee in 1968. At the invitation of Archbishop

James Knox James Robert Knox GCC (2 March 1914 – 26 June 1983) was an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church. After years as a Vatican diplomat, he served as Archbishop of Melbourne from 1967 to 1974, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worshi ...

, he became one of the initial class of St Paul's National Seminary, in Kensington, Sydney. Tomlinson was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Melbourne at St Joseph's Church, Red Cliffs on 18 August 1972. Following ordination he was assistant priest at Mitcham for three years before being loaned to the

Archdiocese of Hobart The Archdiocese of Hobart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Australia located in Hobart and covering Tasmania, Australia. Immediately exempt to the Holy See, the area covered was initially ...

for three years. Returning to Melbourne he served as assistant priest in North Dandenong and Sunshine before being appointed successively as parish priest of Carlton, Rowville and Ormond. Tomlinson was Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral for four months prior to being appointed

Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

and Moderator of the Curia in April 2003, an appointment he held until his appointment as Bishop of Sandhurst. Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named him as a Prelate of Honour on 27 May 2003. Tomlinson also holds a range of administrative roles for the Archdiocese of Melbourne. He had earlier been an active member of the St Patrick's Cathedral Works Committee (1994–1997), involved as committee member and then Secretary of the Priests' Remuneration Fund (August 1992–January 2003). He spent some years as State Chaplain to the

Knights of the Southern Cross The Knights of the Southern Cross (KSC) is a Catholic fraternal order committed to promoting the Christian way of life throughout Australia. The Order was founded in Sydney in 1919 with the approval of the Catholic Bishops of Australia. When it ...

and as the Spiritual Advisor of the State Council of the

St Vincent de Paul Society The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...

, Victoria.

Bishopric

On 5 May 2009, Tomlinson was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as Titular Bishop of Sinitis and Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne and was consecrated at

on 17 June 2009. On 15 October 2011, Tomlinson and eight other Australian bishops had an ''

Ad Limina Apostolorum A quinquennial visit ''ad limina'', or simply an ''ad limina'' visit, is the required visit of Catholic residential diocesan bishops and certain prelates with territorial jurisdiction (such as territorial abbots) to the ''thresholds of the'' om ...

'' with Pope Benedict XVI and on 3 February 2012, Benedict XVI appointed Tomlinson as Bishop of Sandhurst and he was installed in this position on 1 March 2012. In 2019, Tomlinson was succeeded as Bishop by Shane MacKinlay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlinson, Les 1943 births Living people People from Mildura Roman Catholic bishops of Sandhurst