“Your word, Lord, is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path,” Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB reiterated from Psalm 119 as he prepared to commission the eighteen members of the Archdiocese’s new Diocesan Pastoral Council.
Speaking at the 5pm Mass Sunday 5 July at St Mary’s Cathedral, Archbishop Costelloe explained the words of the psalm were important for those gathered as they “open us to God’s compassion and mercy, and to recommit ourselves to the call and the privilege of living as disciples of Christ.”
“And precisely because these words are so important for all of us, they are especially important for those among us who, on behalf of us all, take on the task of being members of our Diocesan Pastoral Council, becoming in that way collaborators with me in the privilege of leading the Church here in our archdiocese along the path of fidelity to all that God is asking of us,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
Concelebrating the Mass with Archbishop Costelloe was Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, Vicar General, the Very Rev Fr Vincent Glynn, and Mazenod College Rector, Fr Michael Twigg OMI.
Formation of the Diocesan Pastoral Council follows several years of prayerful discernment and discussion following the Fifth Plenary Council and via the Archdiocesan Assembly, which included a formation session in September 2023 and the Assembly in July 2024.
A consultative council, it gathers clergy, religious and lay people to advise the Archbishop on pastoral matters, and its members serve a three-year term.
More than 100 delegates from parishes, agencies and offices across the Archdiocese came together as part of the Assembly journey, operating within the framework provided by Canon Law, with a focus on investigating, considering, and formulating practical strategies for pastoral works and initiatives with the diocese – namely on establishing a Diocesan Pastoral Council that reflects the way of synodality as emphasised by Pope Francis.
At the end of 2025, nominations and applications for membership of the Diocesan Pastoral Council were opened, attracting interest from across the Archdiocese.
Members of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, who will serve a three-year term include Wayne Bull, Michelle Carrick, Karen Hart, Lourdes Has, Daniel Hewitt, Robert Hicks, Lauren Italiano, Sr Chitra Justin, Anne Mahony, Rommie Masarei, Rodney Mascarenhas, Richard Miles, Tara Peters, Dr Francesco Piccolo, Michael Piu, Catherine Rice, George Sekulla and Fr Michael Twigg OMI.
Auxiliary Bishops Don Sproxton and Nelson Po, Vicar General, the Very Rev Fr Vincent Glynn and Chief, Mission Enhancement, Dr Debra Sayce (Ex-Officio) also form the membership.
On Saturday 4 July, the new Members were also invited to come together for their first meeting, which included two keynote speeches by Archbishop Costelloe.
Fr Greg Skulski SDS, Superior of the Australian Region of the Salvatorians, welcomed the group, and Dr Debra Sayce, the Archdiocese’s Chief of Mission Enhancement and Outreach, facilitated the day.
Vicar General, the Very Rev Fr Vincent Glynn introduced the members to Conversations in the Spirit, a structured method of prayer, listening and reflection that will underpin the Council’s work.
He acknowledged the process can feel demanding at first, and encouraged those present to bring their faith, gifts and lived experience to the task ahead.
Archbishop Costelloe closed the inaugural meeting with words drawn from the Church’s ordination rites, and a prayer for the work now beginning: “May God, who has begun the good work in us, bring it to fulfilment.”
In commissioning the new Members, Archbishop Costelloe reiterated the words of the message he announced when he was installed as Archbishop of Perth in March 2012.
The great challenge then, he recalled, was for everyone to return the Church to Christ and to return Christ to the Church.
“This remains the great challenge we face and indicates the path along which we are all called to walk,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
The first place to begin, he explained, is to keep the eyes of our mind and heart fixed on Him.
“This is one of the main reasons why the Church reminds us constantly of our need to gather together each weekend to celebrate the Eucharist, just as we are doing this evening.
“It is here that we meet Christ in a very particular way,” he said.
Archbishop Costelloe also gifted each Member a special cross from Mary MacKillop Place that was placed on the tomb of Mary MacKillop in North Sydney.
More to follow…