What is the office of Ministry to Priests?

The Ministry to Priests Office provides personal support to active and retired clergy and promotes a culture of health and wellbeing and ongoing formation for all clergy within the Archdiocese of Melbourne: the focus being on spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental health, ongoing education and skilled ministerial leadership.

The Office is headed by a Director who is available to offer advice, network and refer to resources, support and further assistance where required for the clergy of the Archdiocese. All contact with the Director and the Office is treated with the strictest confidence and care.

The Director works with two Clergy Care Workers who are also Registered Nurses – Clergy Care Team (CCT) (funded by the Priests’ Retirement Foundation) to provide assistance to the approximately 90 formerly active now retired clergy from the Melbourne Archdiocese.

A Committee comprised of clergy, religious and three lay members oversees the ongoing formation program delivered to clergy across the Archdiocese.

The office works collaboratively with the Ongoing Formation of Clergy Committee to offer:

  • Spiritual formation: Retreats and days of prayer

  • Human formation: Support groups, mentoring, and workshops

  • Intellectual formation:  Seminars, sabbaticals, graduate studies

  • Pastoral formation: Under 10 years ordained, skills workshops and seminars

 
From L-R, front: Bishop Greg Bennet (third Director), Fr Brian Cosgriff (second Director), Fr Thang Vu (current Director), Mrs Trish Roseman (Personal Assistant). Back L-R: Fr Greg Bourke (fifth Director), and Bishop Martin Ashe (fourth Director)

From L-R, front: Bishop Greg Bennet (third Director), Fr Brian Cosgriff (second Director), Fr Thang Vu (current Director),

Mrs Trish Roseman (Personal Assistant). Back L-R: Fr Greg Bourke (fifth Director), and Bishop Martin Ashe (fourth Director)

 
Thank you

The Ministry to Priests Office would like to acknowledge and recognise the work of the late Fr Michael Fitzpatrick (04.10.1932 to 28.06.2016) as the first Director in 1990 and the 28 years of dedicated service from Mrs Megan Mitchem as Personal Assistant to the Director, Ministry to Priests from 1990 to 2018.