
The Episcopal Consecration of Most Reverend Thinh Xuan Nguyen DD and Most Reverend Rene Ramirez RCJ DD was held on 1 February 2025 from 10 am at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne.
Bishop Thinh, born in Saigon, Vietnam, immigrated to Australia as a teenager and was ordained a priest in 2006. He has served in several parishes and chaplaincies throughout Melbourne and was appointed to oversee clergy formation in the Archdiocese in 2022.
Father Rene Ramirez RCJ has made history by being ordained as Australia’s first Filipino-born bishop. Fr. Rene Ramirez was born in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, on March 28, 1969.
A member of the Congregation of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus since 1985, Fr. Ramirez was ordained a priest in 1998 after 13 years of seminary training. He has held various positions in education and parish leadership, including service at Rogationist College and as the pastor of Holy Family Parish in Melbourne, where he led significant parish renewal efforts.
In November 2023, he assumed the role of Parish Priest in Shepparton South and Nagambie within the Diocese of Sandhurst and was appointed Supervising Priest in Rushworth in January 2024. Fr. Ramirez’s extensive experience in spiritual formation and community engagement will guide him as he takes on his new responsibilities as Bishop-elect, fostering spiritual growth and connection within the Church.
It was on 8 November 2024 wherein Archbishop Peter A Comensoli shared the news that Pope Francis has appointed Reverend Father Thinh Nguyen and Reverend Father Rene Ramirez RCJ as its two new Auxiliary Bishops for Melbourne.
Archbishop Peter A Comensoli said that the Melbourne Archdiocese is the largest in Oceania, and they have waited a long time to have full complement of Auxiliary Bishops to assist in ministering to God’s people.
Both Fr Nguyen and Fr Ramirez are men who have a heart for the Gospel and a missionary energy for God’s people. They are well-known to the Melbourne Archdiocese, and have already made valuable contributions to the life of the local Church. I know that each will continue to share their distinctive gifts and passionate commitment to our faith communities in the years to come, Archbishop Peter A Comensoli said.
Archbishop Peter A Comensoli asks for your prayers as they begin this new journey in their ministerial lives.
Both Bishops-elect will join Bishop Martin Ashe and Bishop Tony Ireland in bringing together the leadership of the four regions of the Archdiocese.



Additional photos can be viewed at the PhilippinesinAustralia Gallery at https://www.philippinesinaustralia.org/photogallery/index.php?/category/35
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