On Monday 14 October, Pope Francis appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane, the Most Rev Timothy Norton SVD, to be the third Bishop of Broome.
Bishop Norton was born in Sydney in 1958 and initially trained as a physiotherapist, working in inner-city Darlinghurst with young people who were experiencing homelessness, addiction and mental health issues.
He entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1984 and took his first vows in 1986. In 1991, he was ordained priest, ministering in parishes in Mexico until 1996.
Having undertaken postgraduate study in spiritual direction in Melbourne in 1997, he served as the society’s prefect for theology students and as novice and postulant director, based in Melbourne and Sydney, from 1998 to 2004.
His nine years as leader of the society’s Australian province (which takes in New Zealand and Thailand) was followed by ministry in Italy from 2014 to 2021.
In February 2022, he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane.
He brings with him a love for the Indigenous people of our nation, a heart for the poor and marginalised, and a ‘down-to-earth’ approach to the needs and realities of our time.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President and Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB said Bishop Norton would bring ‘energy, enthusiasm and vision’ to the Diocese of Broome, pointing out that ‘As a member of the Society of the Divine Word, Bishop Norton has a deep appreciation of the importance of cultural traditions in the living of the Christian faith.’
‘Having lived and worked in rural and remote areas of Australia, as well as overseas, he brings with him a love for the Indigenous people of our nation, a heart for the poor and marginalised, and a “down-to-earth” approach to the needs and realities of our time.
‘He will be a blessing not only to the Catholic community in the vast Diocese of Broome, but to all who live in the north-west.’
Bishop Michael Morrissey, Apostolic Administrator of the Broome Diocese, noted that Bishop Norton currently serves as a member of the Bishops Commission for Relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
‘In the Diocese of Broome, where 61 per cent of Catholics identify as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, his commitment to strengthening relationships with Aboriginal community members will be greatly valued,’ Bishop Morrissey said.
The Diocese of Broome is in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, in the far north of the state. Spanning 773,000 square kilometres (an area bigger than France), the diocese has a population of about 36,000 people—half of them Indigenous—spread across remote towns and isolated Indigenous communities. Broome was established as an apostolic vicariate in 1887 and became a diocese in 1966.
Banner image: Bishop Timothy Norton SVD. (Photo courtesy of ACBC.)
