John Bathersby
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John Alexius Bathersby (b. 26 July 1936, Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia) is the sixth Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.
He undertook his primary schooling at St. Joseph's, Stanthorpe, (1941 -1950) and, for his secondary schooling he boarded at Nudgee College in Brisbane (1951 - 1954). From school he entered Pius XII Provincial Seminary, Banyo, where he began his training for the priesthood and, on completion of those studies (1955 - 1961), he was ordained a priest in his home parish of Stanthorpe by Bishop William Brennan on 30 June 1961.
His first seven years as a Priest were spent as an Associate Pastor and Administrator at Goondiwindi before being sent to Rome for further studies in 1969 where he completed a licentiate in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and a Diploma in Spirituality at the Terasianum. In 1972, he was appointed to the staff of Pius XII Seminary in Brisbane where he served as Spiritual Director for seven years before returning to Rome for a Doctorate in Theology/Spirituality in 1979. He returned to the Seminary until he was appointed Bishop of Cairns in 1986.
On 20 March 1986, Dr. Bathersby was ordained Bishop of Cairns by Archbishop Rush, whom he succeeded as Archbishop of Brisbane on 3 December 1991. He was installed as the Sixth Bishop (Fifth Archbishop) of Brisbane on 30 January 1992.
Archbishop Bathersby was a member of the International Catholic-Methodist Dialogue from 1989 -1995 and a member of the executive of the Confederation of Bishops' Conferences of Oceania from 1991 to May 1994. He is Co-Chairman of the Australian Catholic-Uniting Church Dialogue. From July 1997 he served as President of the National Council of Churches in Australia until July 2000.
In January 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed Archbishop Bathersby as Co-Chair of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Working Group (IARCCUM). He is currently the Chairman of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference Commission for Mission and Faith Formation as well as being a member of the Bishops' Permanent Committee.
