Pope names U.S. Bishop Lopes to lead Australia’s Anglican ordinariate
Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Steven J. Lopes to lead the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia. Lopes, the current bishop of the Chair of Saint Peter in the U.S., will serve in this role effective immediately. The appointment follows Archbishop Anthony Randazzo’s conclusion as apostolic administrator of the Australian ordinariate. The three Anglican ordinariates—Chair of Saint Peter, Our Lady of Walsingham, and Our Lady of the Southern Cross—serve former Anglicans in full communion with the Catholic Church.
5 months ago
Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Steven J. Lopes, currently head of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter in the United States and Canada, as apostolic administrator of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia, effective immediately on 11 May 2026 1 2 3.
Pope Leo XIV named Bishop Lopes to lead the Australian Anglican ordinariate while retaining his duties in North America.
The appointment is “sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis,” meaning the see is vacant and the administrator serves at the Holy See’s discretion.
Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, who had been apostolic administrator since 1 July 2023, stepped down after being appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts in March 2026 1 2 3.
Three personal ordinariates exist for former Anglicans who have entered full communion with the Catholic Church:
Each ordinariate is a personal (non‑territorial) jurisdiction, defined by the Anglican heritage of its members rather than geographic boundaries, and functions similarly to a diocese 1 2 3.
Lopes is a California native who earned a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
He was ordained a priest in 2001, served at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (2005‑2016), and was appointed bishop of the Chair of Saint Peter in 2016 1 2 3.
He has visited the Australian ordinariate several times and expressed familiarity with its communities 2.
Lopes will act as “temporary custodian” of the Australian ordinariate.
He appointed Father Stephen Hill as vicar general and moderator of the curia to assist in governance 2.
The Australian ordinariate, based in a Sydney suburb, continues its mission of preserving Anglican patrimony while fostering growth and evangelization 1 2.
The ordinariates were established by Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus.
In March 2026 the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released a document outlining the “characteristics of the Anglican heritage” as lived in the ordinariates, emphasizing active lay participation and evangelization through beauty in worship, music, and art 1 2 3.
Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed support for the ordinariates as a “precious gift and a treasure to be shared” 1.
Archbishop Randazzo highlighted “grace‑filled growth” and “renewed stability” during his tenure, expressing confidence in the ordinariate’s future 1 2.
Bishop Lopes’ appointment signals continuity and a focus on nurturing the Anglican patrimony within the Australian Catholic context 2 3.
Assess Catholic Church’s policy on Anglican ordinariates
The Church’s policy on Anglican ordinariates (Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering full communion) is best understood as a twofold ecclesial strategy: to heal division by enabling corporate reunion with Rome, while also preserving legitimate Anglican patrimony (especially liturgical, spiritual, and pastoral traditions) within the Latin Church.
Anglicanorum coetibus frames reunion with the Catholic Church as an urgent response to Christ’s will for visible unity and to the harm division inflicts on the Church’s witness. It explicitly notes that division among the baptized “wounds” the Church and “openly contradicts the will of Christ,” while unity is a visible manifestation of communion.
At the same time, the document insists that the Church is not merely an invisible spiritual idea. Rather, the Church is visible and structured (with hierarchical organs and sacramental life), and the visible bonds of faith, sacraments, and governance matter.
This is why the policy does not treat Anglican heritage as a purely private cultural add-on. Instead, it aims to ensure that Anglican groups can enter full communion “corporately” (as communities) while sharing Catholic communion fully, not partially.
The Apostolic Constitution establishes that personal ordinariates are erected for Anglican faithful entering full communion and can exist within the territorial boundaries of a given episcopal conference; one or more may be erected “as needed.”
Each ordinariate has public juridic personality and is juridically comparable to a diocese.
A key clarification from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is that Anglicanorum coetibus does not create an entirely new canonical structure; it uses the Church’s existing canonical category of personal ordinariates, adapted to a special pastoral situation.
The same explanation notes an important boundary: ordinariates are not to be treated as particular ritual churches, because the Anglican liturgical/spiritual heritage is developed entirely within the framework of the Latin Church, not as a separate sui iuris rite/church.
This also addresses a possible misunderstanding: while both Eastern Catholics and Anglicans have distinct traditions, the Church’s official logic emphasizes that the structures differ, because the “term church” applies differently for legal and sacramental reasons.
A central feature of the policy is liturgical continuity. Anglicanorum coetibus states that—without excluding Roman Rite celebrations—the ordinariate has faculty to celebrate:
The purpose is explicitly stated: to maintain “liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion” as a “precious gift nourishing the faith” of members and “a treasure to be shared.”
Significance of the Apostolic Constitution summarizes the safeguarding logic by pointing out that the Church’s permission is not a reduction of Catholic unity; rather, it is a controlled way to preserve Anglican patrimony so it can be integrated into full Catholic life—while remaining subject to Catholic authority and approval.
Anglicanorum coetibus makes the Catechism of the Catholic Church the “authoritative expression of the Catholic faith” professed by members of an ordinariate.
In the decree for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Holy See specifies the existence of a programmatic of catechetical formation of a “congruent time” with content established by the Ordinary in agreement with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, so the faithful can “adhere fully to the doctrinal content of the Catechism” and make the profession of faith.
The constitutional framework places the ordinariate under structured oversight: it is governed according to universal law, the Apostolic Constitution, and complementary norms, and is “subject to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith” and other dicasteries according to competence.
It also includes governance mechanisms requiring consultation (e.g., councils) and periodic reports: the Ordinary must make an ad limina Apostolorum visit every five years with a report on the ordinariate’s status.
A frequent “pressure point” in public understanding is clerical discipline—especially regarding married Anglican ministers and the discipline of clerical celibacy.
Anglicanorum coetibus provides that Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops who meet canonical requirements and are not impeded may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church.
The policy’s baseline is that the Ordinary, in full observance of Latin Church discipline, as a rule admits only celibate men to the presbyterate, but may petition the Roman Pontiff for admission of married men on a case-by-case basis according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.
The “Significance” summary explicitly interprets and foregrounds this as a safeguarding measure: it highlights that the ordinariate can ordain those who were married Anglican ministers according to specified norms—while also acknowledging the general rule of celibacy and the case-by-case mechanism for married candidates.
Anglicanorum coetibus requires that candidates be prepared alongside other seminarians, with special attention to doctrinal and pastoral formation, and allows ordinariate-specific formation programs or houses of formation related to Catholic faculties of theology.
Walsingham’s decree similarly underscores that candidates from Anglican ministry receive a specific programme of theological formation and spiritual/pastoral preparation prior to Catholic ordination.
1) It makes unity visible and corporate.
The policy directly targets the pastoral tragedy of division by enabling Anglican communities to enter full communion as communities, while remaining under Catholic governance and doctrinal unity.
2) It preserves patrimony through an approved liturgical system.
Rather than dissolving Anglican identity, the Church explicitly grants faculty for Anglican liturgical traditions (approved by the Holy See), integrated alongside Roman Rite celebrations.
3) It uses rigorous doctrinal and procedural safeguards.
By making the Catechism authoritative, requiring formation leading to full doctrinal adherence and profession of faith, and placing the ordinariate under Rome’s dicasterial competence, the policy is designed to prevent a “functional ecclesial dualism.”
4) It addresses clerical discipline with legal clarity rather than improvisation.
The celibacy discipline is clearly stated, with defined pathways for married Anglican ministers that preserve the Latin norm while responding to concrete pastoral realities.
1) Diversity vs. unity.
Even with approved liturgical books, the Church must ensure that Anglican distinctives do not imply doctrinal divergence. This is why the policy centralizes doctrinal formation and Catholic profession of faith and places oversight within the Roman governance framework.
2) Identity vs. canonical categorization.
The policy is careful to avoid analogies that could mislead: the ordinariate is not a separate ritual church; it is an Anglican patrimony within the Latin Church’s canonical order.
3) Clerical expectations across traditions.
By setting a rule (celibate presbyters) and allowing defined exceptions (case-by-case petitions consistent with objective criteria), the Church attempts to balance continuity with Catholic discipline and pastoral integration of Anglican clergy.
Catholic policy on Anglican ordinariates is a structured plan to advance full communion by giving Anglican groups a juridical and pastoral home—personal ordinariates—that is comparable to a diocese, under Roman oversight, with strong doctrinal formation safeguards and the preservation of Anglican patrimony through Holy See-approved liturgical permissions, while also carefully regulating priestly discipline (including provisions for married former Anglican ministers).