Welcome from our Archbishop

We are, in a sense, a “community of communities”. We are a local church indeed, but we are also a whole set of neighbourhoods of grace – those within the tram track area of Melbourne and those beyond, into the various suburbs and even other cities that make up our Archdiocese. And in all those circumstances, we come to proclaim Jesus Christ into the lives of our families, our friends and neighbours, those we work with, and so on.

We seek to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and plant the seeds of that faith that was given to us into our local communities. Those communities are made up of our parishes, schools, hospitals and social service organisations; and all those many communities, groups and movements that are a part of our local church.

At the heart of who we are is not all the buildings or the edifices, but the person of Jesus Christ, who enters into our lives and who we then share with others. He's our brother and friend; our teacher. He is the Lord. And we're invited to get to know Jesus in our lives and to share his life with others. In that sense, we are a pilgrim people who seek to be witnesses of Jesus in our lives; to show where he has gone before us, to allow him to walk with us and to walk with him into our future.

There are some really special people that are a part of that journey with us. We think of the great St Mary of the Cross MacKillop or our own local Mary Glowrey who, through her patronage of the poor and the sick, has become such a beautiful model for us. And of course, the great St Patrick, patron of our whole Archdiocese and after whom our Cathedral is named. These people form the great cloud of God's people – which we are a part of – and show us the way in which we can be bold witnesses of the proclamation of Jesus Christ in our time and place.

And so I invite you to come and see – to get to know Jesus Christ in your life and to connect in with our local communities of grace here in Melbourne.

+Peter A Comensoli
Archbishop of Melbourne