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Rest in Peace, Bishop Joe |
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Bishop Joseph Angelo Grech DDDecember 10 1948- December 28 2010. Resources for reflection , for those who are unable to attend and would like to pray at the time of Bishop Joe's funeral, or for general reflection can be found here. Reflection from the diocesan website
People are invited to write in the online Memorial Book, which can be found here
Funeral booklet was uploaded immediately prior to the funeral, and is available in the reflection resources
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Online tributes to Bishop Joe |
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Facebook links - Bishop Joe |
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Rest in Peace, Bishop Joe |
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The Most Reverend Joseph Angelo Grech, much loved Bishop of the Sandhurst Diocese died (28/12/2010) at St Vincent’s hospital Melbourne after the recurrence of a blood disorder. He was aged 62.
Appointed as the sixth Bishop of the Sandhurst Diocese in 2001, the Most Reverend Joseph Grech has been a Bishop of the people, loved by young and old. This generous, warm and passionate man of God will be remembered as a great leader of the Catholic community of Sandhurst, of Australia and internationally. He was a friend to all.
Monsignor Marriott who was at his bedside when he died recalled his great love for young people. Monsignor said “Bishop Joe had a famous saying for young people – ‘God doesn’t make rubbish – there is good in each of us and we have to find it’.
Bishop Joseph Grech was born in Malta on December 10 1948. After completing the first four years of studies for the priesthood in Malta, he arrived in Australia in 1971. He completed his last four years of studies at Corpus Christi College in Melbourne and was ordained a priest in 1974. In 1999 Bishop Joseph was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne prior to his appointment as Bishop of Sandhurst Diocese on April 27 2001.
At the time of his death Bishop Joseph was a member of the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life with special oversight for the pastoral care of Migrants and Refugees. He was recently appointed to the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants. Within the Commission for Pastoral Life Bishop Joe was also responsible on behalf of the Bishops of Australia for Youth Ministry. He was also a member of the Bishops Commission for Mission and Adult Faith Formation with particular responsibilities regarding Catholic Missions. Bishop Joe was also a member of the International Catholic Charismatic Council representing Oceania. He was a much sought after international speaker with particular commitment to the Charismatic Renewal Movement, Priests’ Retreats and to Young People.
Bishop Joe was very committed to the priests and people of the Sandhurst Diocese. He was always available for his people – he led Scripture workshops, visited schools and parishes regularly and knew the students well – they all loved him! Bishop Joe led the Stronger Retreat for Young People in Echuca recently – he was thrilled with it. Phil Billington, Director of Catholic Education paid tribute to Bishop Joe’s passion for young people and for our Catholic schools – “he loved the students, knew so many by name and was always interested in the staff and their families – he had an enormous capacity for love. We were privileged to have this wonderful man as our Bishop and we will grieve deeply for him”.
He was the spiritual leader of the Diocesan Pilgrimage to the Canonisation of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and in the Footsteps of St Paul – the fifty pilgrims feel very privileged to have shared this precious time with him recently.
St Kilian’s Parish Administrator, Fr Rom Hayes said Bishop Joe wasn’t one to stand on ceremony and that says a lot about the sort of man he was – “He was known as Bishop Joe and that’s what he liked to be called.” Fr Rom recalled that “he was thoughtful, outgoing and very concerned for people. He poured himself into his work and never backed off. I’ll remember him as warm and caring and passionate about the things he believed in”.
Bishop Joe was well known across the Diocese, not only in the Catholic community. He was a prominent leader in Bendigo and was also well known in Australian diplomatic circles. He was respected by all with whom he came into contact.
Bishop Joe was proud of his Maltese heritage and equally proud to be an Australian, the wonderful blend of these cultures manifested in the character of this truly great man. He was very close to his sister and brother and Aunty Mary who still live in Malta – he would visit them each year. His Aunt Tess and Uncle Jim who live in Australia were like parents to him – they were at his side when he died.
The Diocese and Church of Australia will grieve for this warm and loving man of God for a very long time but his legacy of love for Jesus and passion for humanity will live on in our hearts and in our lives.
People are invited to write in the Memorial Book in the Requiem Chapel at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo or the online memorial
MAY HE REST IN PEACE |
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 Ashley Ruffell
YCS update Feb 2010. YCS requested that the role of Admin support for YCS be advertised and based in Sandhurst, and Ashley Ruffell has been appointed to the role. She will be part time, 12 hours a week, based in Bendigo. Congratulations Ashley, and welcome to the team Vicky Burrows was reappointed to the position of National Coordinator, and so we will welcome her into the diocese on the 1st of March (if not before) Vicky will be based in Wangaratta. Welcome Vicky! On another note, 5 students and two adults went to the YCS national conference in Brisbane, which has given a great re-starting boost for the movement in the diocese |
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This January 5 students from across Sandhurst attended the YCS “transformers” conference in Brisbane. YCS, which stands for Young Christian Students, is a student-run organisation ran all over Australia and in over 80 countries around the world. YCS was started by Joseph Cardijn, it branched off YCW, Young Christian Workers, which was ‘officially’ started 1st August 1925. At the moment there are around 400 members involved Australia wide, and the movement is growing! The conference was attended by over 50 students and 20 adults, and was totally student run. Young adult workers assisted students, and Adult Assistants were observers rather than participants. |
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YCS Admin Worker The Australian Young Christian Students is seeking a committed and energetic person to take on the role of Administration Officer for 12 hours a week, based in Shepparton or Bendigo. They are wishing to hear from people who are interested in taking on this role who possess basic administrative skills and have a passion for young people. The employee will work with the Australian YCS National Coordinator who will be based in Sandhurst for 2010. Contact Vicky Burrows on 0412529656 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
to receive an information pack, including role description. Applications will only be considered from people who have received information packs. Hurry - Applications close at 5pm, Friday the 22nd of January. |
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Seeking youth ministry worker |
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The Diocese of Sandhurst seeks to employ a Youth Ministry Worker for a period of 19 months, who will resource and support the development of youth ministry in the diocese, enabling and empowering local people to take responsibility for youth ministry at a grass roots level. An information package is available on www.sym.org.au, or by contacting The Chancery on (03) 5441 2544. Applications close 5th February 2010. Information package under downloads/resource order form |
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Rob's New Song with Bishop Joe! |
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 Listen online, or one week free download from Fri 28th August. It's great! http://www.robertgalea.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-song.html |
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"God does not make Rubbish" release |
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Rob Galea's latest single, premiered at Receive the Power Sandhurst, is "God does not make rubbish". It features Bishop Joe, has been recorded and will be released this Friday, 28th August 2009. It will eventually be able to be downloaded from itunes. Watch this space for more information.
Official link will be on www.thatsworship.com
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National Youth Minsitry e-news |
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 A copy of the first youth ministry e-newsletter from the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life. You can sign up to receive copies at www.youthministry.catholic.org.au This newsletter will be distributed bi-monthly and will update readers on the: - progress of the outcomes from the National Youth Leaders Gathering 2008
- work of the Australian Catholic Youth Council
- work of the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life - Senior Youth Ministry Projects Officer
and other developments in youth ministry from around Australia. |
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