Patrick Michael O'Regan (born 8 October 1958) is a

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

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 ...

. He has been the

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Australia located in Adelaide, South Australia. Cathedral St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide is the seat of the Catholic A ...

since 25 May 2020. Prior to that, he had been the Bishop of Sale since 2015. O'Regan was elected as the 9th Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale is a suffragan Latin Church diocese of Archdiocese of Melbourne, that covers the south east of Victoria, Australia. The diocese was established in 1887. Gregory Bennet was appointed bishop of Sale on 27 June ...

in 2014 and he was consecrated and installed as a bishop by the Archbishop of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Denis Hart Denis James Hart (born 16 May 1941) is a retired Australian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Melbourne from 2001 to 2018. Early years and background Hart was born in East Melbourne, Victoria, the eldest of the three chi ...

on 26 February 2015 at a ceremony in . On 19 March 2020,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

announced that Bishop O'Regan would become the 12th Archbishop of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Early years and background

O'Regan was born in ,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, one of four children and grew up in the village of Perthville, located approximately south of Bathurst. Educated at St Joseph's Primary School, Perthville and

St Stanislaus' College , motto_translation = But we (Trust) in the name of the Lord , established = , type = Independent secondary day and boarding school , denomination = Roman Catholic , religious_affiliation = ...

, Bathurst, O'Regan commenced study for the priesthood at St Columba College, and later at St Patrick's College. During his semester breaks it was reported that he pulled beers at the Majellan Club, carted feed and cut cauliflowers in the local market gardens. Ordained as a priest at St Michael and St John's Cathedral in Bathurst on 2 September 1983, O'Regan served as an assistant parish priest in parishes in , , and in Bathurst. During 1994 and 1995 O'Regan commenced higher studies at the Institut Catholique,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He returned to Australia, initially to Orange, before being appointed as a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

priest in . O'Regan completed his higher studies in France during 2001 and 2002 graduating with a Licentiate in Liturgy and Sacramental Theology; returning to Australia in 2003 as parish priest of . In 2008 he was appointed as Diocesan Administrator in the Diocese of Bathurst; promoted to Diocesan Chancellor to 2009; to the Dean of the Cathedral in 2010; and concurrently as the Vicar General in 2012.

Bishop of Sale

In December 2014 it was announced that

had appointed O'Regan as the Bishop of Sale, replacing Christopher Prowse, who became the Archbishop of Canberra-Goulburn. O'Regan was consecrated and installed as Bishop on 26 February 2015, by Archbishop Denis Hart.

Archbishop of Adelaide

On 19 March 2020 it was announced that

had appointed O'Regan as the Archbishop of

. He was installed as Archbishop of Adelaide on 25 May 2020 at a small ceremony, due to COVID-19 restrictions, at St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide, South Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ORegan, Patrick 1958 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic priests Sacramental theologians Clergy from New South Wales Institut Catholique de Paris alumni Roman Catholic archbishops of Adelaide 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Australia

Early years and background

Bishop of Sale

Archbishop of Adelaide

See also

References