A New South Wales bishop has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV to a senior role in the Vatican.
Anthony Randazzo, the Bishop of Broken Bay which covers Sydney’s northern regions and the central coast since 2019, has received the personal title of archbishop and named as Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts.
The position in the Roman Curia — the administrative wing of the Catholic Church — is responsible for interpreting church laws and ensuring their correct application around the world.
The appointment makes him the most senior Australian at the Vatican since the late cardinal George Pell, who was prefect of the secretariat for the economy at the Vatican from 2014 to 2019.
Archbishop Randazzo at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in East Gosford. (Supplied: Facebook)
In a statement on social media, Archbishop Randazzo said he was “profoundly grateful” to Pope Leo for the trust placed in him, and asked for prayers as he undertakes the new challenge.
The 59-year-old met with Pope Leo in the Apostolic Palace, his official residence in Vatican City, earlier this month.
Archbishop Randazzo was born in Sydney and raised in Queensland before being ordained as a priest in the Archdiocese of Brisbane in 1991.
His academic pathway as a priest took him to Rome, where he earned qualifications in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
He subsequently spent five years working at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The newly assigned Archbishop is due to take up the role in Rome in the next few months. (Supplied: Facebook)
Archbishop Randazzo is also the president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania.
He will remain in Broken Bay for the next three months, before taking on his new role in Rome.
Pope Leo is due to visit Australia in 2028, the first papal visit since Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.