Carmelites launch bursary to help priests, deacons study
The Carmelite Nuns of Melbourne have launched the St Thérèse of Lisieux bursary to support further education for clergy serving in Australian dioceses. The fund is financed by investment proceeds from the sale of the Carmelites’ former Canberra property, after the sisters moved to Melbourne in 2024. Eligible priests and deacons may seek support for retreats, sabbaticals, spirituality courses, and accredited academic or professional development; applications require a bishop’s endorsement. Applications are accepted year-round and reviewed in June and December. The bursary is open to diocesan clergy, religious priests in diocesan appointments, and permanent and transitional deacons.
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The Carmelite Nuns of Melbourne have launched a bursary to support priests and deacons in active ministry in Australian dioceses who pursue further study or other educational opportunities. Funded from proceeds of the sale of the Carmelites’ former Canberra property, the scheme reflects the order’s longstanding ministry of supporting clergy through prayer. 1
The St Thérèse of Lisieux bursary was launched on November 4 at the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference plenary meeting in Sydney. Its funding comes from the invested proceeds of the sale of the Carmelites’ Canberra property; the sisters moved to Melbourne in 2024 after 50 years in the national capital. 1
The fund is intended to help clergy undertake studies and educational opportunities that enrich their priestly service. Eligible activities may include extended spiritual retreats or sabbaticals, courses at recognised spirituality centres, and accredited academic, vocational or professional-development programs. 1
The bursary is open to clergy incardinated in an Australian diocese, religious priests ordained and serving in diocesan appointments, active permanent deacons, and ordained diocesan transitional deacons. All applications require endorsement by the applicant’s bishop. 1
Expressions of interest may be submitted throughout the year, with applications considered twice yearly, in June and December. 1*
Ongoing formation equips clergy for faithful pastoral ministry
Ongoing formation equips priests for faithful pastoral ministry not merely by adding practical skills, but by helping them continually renew their response to Christ, grow in holiness, deepen their understanding of the faith, and serve people more attentively. It is therefore both a personal responsibility and a service to the faithful: the quality of a priest’s formation affects the ministry and care the community receives. The supplied teaching speaks chiefly about priests; it does not establish every detail of formation for each clerical state.
Priestly formation does not end at ordination. Pastores Dabo Vobis describes it as the natural continuation of seminary formation, developing what was begun there while adapting it to new pastoral circumstances. It is not simply a refresher course or a collection of new techniques; it is an integrated process involving human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral growth.
The reason is theological as well as practical. Ordination begins a lifelong response to Christ’s call. The priest must repeatedly renew that response as he encounters changing situations in the Church and society. Ongoing formation helps him discern and follow God’s call throughout his ministry, and the 2016 Ratio Fundamentalis describes this as a continuing journey of conversion that rekindles the gift received at ordination.
This does not mean that formation replaces the grace of ordination or makes a priest faithful automatically. Rather, the sources say the priest must freely cooperate with the Spirit and take responsibility for his continuing growth. Formation supports fidelity; it does not remove the need for a priest’s choices, effort, and perseverance.
The goal is not simply greater competence, though knowledge and skills matter. The Ratio Fundamentalis identifies pastoral charity—the self-giving love of Christ the Good Shepherd—as the “heart and form” of ongoing priestly formation. That charity gives coherence to the different aspects of a priest’s growth and directs them toward service.
This shapes how a priest approaches people and the realities they face. Pastores Dabo Vobis says pastoral charity should lead him to understand the actual situations of those to whom he is sent, discern what the Spirit is calling for amid those circumstances, and seek suitable ways to minister. Formation therefore equips a priest to respond more thoughtfully and faithfully, not simply to repeat established methods without regard to the people and circumstances before him.
It also guards against reducing ministry to busyness or routine. A priest can perform many religious or administrative tasks while losing sight of ministry as a personal service in Christ’s name. Ongoing formation helps resist that “activism,” keeping pastoral work rooted in the priest’s relationship with Christ and in love for those entrusted to his care.
The central test of formation is fidelity: whether the priest remains trustworthy in carrying out his mission, including amid fatigue and difficulty. John Paul II presents formation as a means of repeatedly refocusing the priest on that mission and sustaining faithful service throughout his life.
This makes formation important not only for the priest himself. The Ratio Fundamentalis says the faithful have a “precise right” to encounter priests who are suitably mature and formed, because they experience the effects of their priests’ formation and holiness. The claim in the headline is therefore more than a matter of professional development: formation serves the Church by helping priests serve God’s people well.
Holiness is integral to this service. In his address to the clergy of Rome, John Paul II connects fruitful pastoral ministry with priestly holiness and emphasizes prayer, the Eucharist, and mutual support among priests as important means of sustaining their vocation. The point is not that holiness removes pastoral challenges, but that ministry must be nourished by a life rooted in Christ rather than treated as a job performed independently of spiritual life.
The priest is principally and primarily responsible for his own ongoing formation, but the Church should provide concrete support. The Ratio Fundamentalis identifies priestly fraternity as the first setting for formation and calls for diocesan promotion of formation that takes account of priests’ different ages and circumstances.
That communal dimension matters because priests do not minister in isolation. John Paul II highlights the role of the presbyterate—the community of priests serving with their bishop—in mutual encouragement, prayer, and support for fidelity. Formation can thus strengthen both the individual priest and the bonds of communion that support pastoral service.
The headline is well supported if “equips” is understood in this full sense: ongoing formation develops a priest’s capacities while continually shaping his identity, holiness, judgment, and pastoral charity. Its purpose is not simply to make ministry more efficient, but to help priests serve faithfully as ministers of Christ for the good of the people entrusted to them.