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

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He has been the Archbishop of Adelaide 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 Sale in 2014 and he was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

and installed as a bishop by the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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 chil ...

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

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

announced that Bishop O'Regan would become the 12th

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Early years and background

O'Regan was born in ,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, one of four children and grew up in the village of

Perthville Perthville is a small town in New South Wales, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tas ...

, located approximately south of Bathurst. Educated at St Joseph's Primary School, Perthville and

St Stanislaus' College St Stanislaus' College is an Australian independent Roman Catholic secondary day and boarding school for boys located in , in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, west of Sydney. Founded in 1867 and conducted since 1889 by t ...

, 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, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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 Christopher Charles Prowse (born 14 November 1953 in East Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian Roman Catholic bishop. He is currently the archbishop of the Archdiocese of CanberraGoulburn; appointed to the post on 12 September 2013 and inst ...

, 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 During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

, at

St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide St Francis Xavier's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Adelaide, South Australia. It is classified as being a Gothic Revival building in the Early English style. The foundation stone was laid in 1856 and the building was dedicated i ...

, South Australia. O’Regan is the Grand Prior of the South Australia Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:ORegan, Patrick 1958 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic priests Clergy from New South Wales Catholic University of Paris alumni Roman Catholic archbishops of Adelaide 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Australia People educated at St Stanislaus' College (Bathurst) Grand Priors of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

Early years and background

Bishop of Sale

Archbishop of Adelaide

See also

References

External links