Retired bishops

Archbishop Emeritus Denis J Hart

Archbishop Denis Hart was born in East Melbourne on 16 May 1941, the eldest of three children of Kevin James Hart and Annie Eileen Larkan. His primary education was at St John’s Marist Brothers, Hawthorn 1946-53 and Xavier College, Kew 1954-59. He studied for the priesthood at Corpus Christi College, Werribee 1960-63 and Corpus Christi College, Glen Waverley 1963-67. He was ordained to the priesthood at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne on 22 July 1967 by Most Reverend A F Fox DD, the then Auxiliary Bishop.

He was appointed Chaplain at the Repatriation Hospital, Heidelberg from 20 December 1967 to 20 January 1968; then Assistant Priest, North Balwyn (1968), Assistant Priest and Master of Ceremonies at St Patrick’s Cathedral (1969-74), on 25 March 1970 he was appointed Prefect of Ceremonies for the Archdiocese of Melbourne (this appointment continued until 17 August 1996). On 25 January 1975 he was appointed Advocate and Notary of the Regional Matrimonial Tribunal, residing in North Richmond Parish (this appointment continued until 1 October 1985). He was Executive Secretary of the National Liturgical Commission of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference from 1 July 1975 until 1 July 1990. He was responsible for the preparation of official editions of books for worship – the three-volume Lectionary for Mass, the rites of Anointing, Marriage, Funerals, Initiation of Adults, and, in co-operation with publishers, of people’s books for worship.

He was Liturgy Director and Assistant Master of Ceremonies for the whole of the Australian Papal Visit in November 1986.

On 28 January 1987 he was appointed Parish Priest of St Joseph’s, West Brunswick. On 1 September 1996 he became Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia and subsequently Diocesan Consultor; Chairman of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission; Deputy Chairman of the Diocesan Extension and Maintenance Fund; Deputy Chairman of the Diocesan Finance Council; Secretary of the Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Melbourne; Ex-officio member of the Archbishop’s Personnel Advisory Board; of the Archbishop’s Committee for New Areas in the Archdiocese; a nominee of the Archbishop of Melbourne on the Committee of Catholic Capital Grants.

On 10 November 1997 he was named Titular Bishop of Vagada and Auxiliary Bishop to the Archdiocese of Melbourne and was consecrated on 9 December 1997. As a Bishop he retained all of the above offices and in addition to Diocesan ministries worked in the Southern Region of the Archdiocese. He was Secretary of the Bishops of the Province of Melbourne and a member of the Australian Catholic University.

On 22 June 2001 he was appointed Archbishop of Melbourne. On 29 June 2001 he received the Pallium in St Peter’s Square, Rome with the other newly appointed Archbishops at the hands of Pope John Paul II. On 1 August 2001 Archbishop Hart took possession of the See of Melbourne.

In the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference he was a member of the Permanent Committee from 2002 to his retirement, and served as chairman of the Bishops’ Commission for Administration and Information (2002-2012), member of the Bishops’ Commission for Liturgy (1998-2012), and Vice President of the Conference (2010-2012). In May 2012 he was elected President of the Australian Bishops Conference, a role in which he served until 2018.

In 2003, he was appointed to the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) and in 2010 was made Vice President of the Commission.

He took part in the Oceania Synod and Ad Limina visit in 1998, and in Ad Limina Visits in 2004 and 2011. In early 2014 Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Congregation for Eastern Churches until 2019, and of the Pontifical Council for Culture. He was also appointed a Member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

In 2014 he attended the special Synod on the Family in Rome and in 2015, during the liturgical art and architecture symposium, ‘God is in the Detail’, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference hosted the Hart Lecture in recognition of the outstanding contribution of Archbishop Denis J Hart to the liturgy – locally, nationally and internationally.

On 29 June 2018, Pope Francis accepted his resignation and appointed him Apostolic Administrator until 31 July 2018.

Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Terence Curtin

Born in Cremorne, Sydney on 20 July 1945, Terence Curtin was educated at St Kevin’s College, Toorak. Joining the Regional Seminary of Melbourne, he completed his priestly formation at the Pontifical Urban College, Rome.

Graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Melbourne and later on a Doctorate of Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Melbourne on 28 August 1971.

From 1971 to 1974 Fr Curtin served as Assistant Priest at Noble Park and from 1974 to 1975 he was Assistant Priest of Fawkner and Chaplain to the General Cemetery of Melbourne.

He was appointed Chaplain and Head of the Religious Education Department at the State College of Victoria, Mercy Campus in Ascot Vale from 1975 to 1982. Following further studies in Rome, Fr Curtin served as Chaplain and Head of the School of Religion and Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University in Oakleigh from 1987 to 1992 and in 1992 he studied at the Weston School of Theology in Boston, USA.

He was Head of the School of Religion and Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University, Victoria, from 1993 to 1995.

Fr Curtin was Head of the School of Theology at the Australian Catholic University, Victoria, from 1996 to 2002. From 2003-2010 he was Master of the Catholic Theological College, Melbourne, and since 2006 he has been Magistral Chaplain to the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of Malta.

In 2008 Fr Curtin was appointed Parish Priest of Greythorn. From 2008 to 2009 he was Vice President of the Melbourne College of Divinity and President from 2010 to 2011, and in 2011 he was made Head of the Systematic Theology Department at the Catholic Theological College, Melbourne.

In 2012 he was made a Monsignor and appointed Diocesan Consultor and Episcopal Vicar of Melbourne for the Eastern Region. On 17 December 2014, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne by Archbishop Denis Hart at St Patrick’s Cathedral, East Melbourne.

Bishop Curtin served as Auxiliary Bishop for the Northern Region and Episcopal Vicar for Evangelisation and Mission.

In 2025, he retired from active ministry.