Peter Andrew Comensoli (born 25 March 1964) is an

Australian Catholic The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Holy See. From origins as a suppressed, mainly Irish minority in early colonial times, the church has grown ...

prelate who was named the ninth Archbishop of Melbourne on 29 June 2018. He had been serving as the third Bishop of Broken Bay 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 ...

since December 2014. From 2011 to 2014 he was an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Sydney The Archdiocese of Sydney ( la, Archidioecesis Sydneyensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its episcopal see is Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Erected in 1842, the archdiocese is the metr ...

Early life

Comensoli studied at St Paul's (now Holy Spirit) College,

Bellambi Bellambi () is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It has a railway station (opened 1889) on the NSW TrainLink South Coast Line. Bellambi is situated directly north of Corrimal and east of Russell Vale. ...

, New South Wales, and studied commerce at the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

while working for four years in the banking sector before switching to theology.

Priesthood

Comensoli entered

St Patrick's Seminary St Patrick's Seminary, Manly is a heritage-listed former residence of the Archbishop of Sydney and Roman Catholic Church seminary at 151 Darley Road, Manly, Northern Beaches Council, New South Wales, Australia. The property was also known as ...

in 1986 and obtained a

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

(BTh) degree in 1989 and a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred ...

(STB) degree in 1991 from the

Catholic Institute of Sydney The Catholic Institute of Sydney, a tertiary educational facility that is a member institution of the Sydney College of Divinity, delivers theological studies at both undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. The institute is located in , in ...

. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Wollongong in 1992 by

William Edward Murray William Edward Murray Order of Australia, AM (16 February 192021 April 2013) was an Australian bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Murray was born in Leichhardt and was ordained as a priest on 21 July 1945 in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of ...

. Comensoli obtained a

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...

(STL) from the

Alphonsian Academy 150px, St. Alphonsus de Liguori, whose teachings inspired the establishment of the Academy. The Pontifical Alphonsian Academy (; ), also commonly known as the Alphonsianum, is a pontifical institution of higher education founded in 1949 by the Re ...

in Rome in 2000, a

Master of Letters The Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. Ireland Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland ...

(MLitt) degree in

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 2007 and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(PhD) degree in theological ethics from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. His

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was titled "Recognising persons: the profoundly impaired and Christian anthropology" and was submitted in 2012.

Episcopacy

Comensoli was appointed an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Sydney and titular bishop of

Tigisis in Numidia __NOTOC__ Tigisis, also known as Tigisis in Numidia to distinguish it from another Tigisis in Mauretania, was an ancient fortified town of North Africa near what is now Aïn el-Bordj, Algeria. It was near Lambese and Thamagada. History Under ...

by 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 sovereign ...

on 20 April 2011. He was consecrated as a bishop by Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal 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 . I ...

at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney on 8 June 2011, becoming Australia's youngest Catholic bishop. On 27 February 2014, Comensoli was appointed by Pope Francis as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Sydney following Cardinal Pell's appointment as prefect of the newly formed

Secretariat for the Economy The Secretariat for the Economy ( it, Segreteria per l'economia) is a dicastery of the Roman Curia with authority over all economic activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Description Pope Francis established the secretariat in ...

. On 18 September 2014, Pope Francis appointed

Anthony Fisher Anthony Colin Fisher (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Since 12 November 2014, he has been the ninth Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He served as the ...

the new Archbishop of Sydney, and Comensoli remained the apostolic administrator until Fisher's installation on 12 November. On 20 November 2014, Pope Francis appointed Comensoli as the Bishop of Broken Bay. His installation took place on 12 December. On 29 June 2018, Comensoli was appointed Archbishop of Melbourne. He was installed on 1 August. Comensoli personally vouched for Cardinal Pell by signing a letter of support in 2015 ahead of the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, describing him as a "man of integrity", and considers him as a personal friend. Comensoli has stated that he would not break the

seal of confession In the Catholic Church, the Seal of Confession (also known as the Seal of the Confessional or the Sacramental Seal) is the absolute duty of priests or anyone who happens to hear a confession not to disclose anything that they learn from penitent ...

for confessions which include admissions of sexual abuse .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Comensoli, Peter Andrew 1964 births Living people University of Wollongong alumni Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alphonsian Academy alumni Australian people of Italian descent Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI Roman Catholic bishops of Broken Bay Moral philosophers Roman Catholic moral theologians Roman Catholic archbishops of Melbourne Roman Catholic bishops of Sydney Australian Roman Catholic archbishops