{"id":7276,"date":"2026-05-08T05:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T05:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/7276\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T05:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T05:55:11","slug":"bishop-meagher-bids-farewell-to-sydney-with-a-call-for-all-to-trust-in-christs-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/7276\/","title":{"rendered":"Bishop Meagher bids farewell to Sydney with a call for all to trust in Christ\u2019s peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Bishop Daniel Meagher at his farewell. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography \u00a9 2026<\/p>\n

Bishop Daniel Meagher bid goodbye to the Archdiocese of Sydney at St Mary\u2019s Cathedral on 5 May, telling the faithful gathered for his farewell Mass before moving to Rockhampton that Christ\u2019s peace would sustain\u00a0His people\u00a0through every challenge and\u00a0hardship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The farewell liturgy came just two days after the conclusion of\u00a0Sydney\u2019s\u00a0archdiocesan Synod<\/a>, for which Bishop Meagher served as vice-chair\u00a0assisting\u00a0Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Archbishop Fisher, Bishop Richard Umbers, Bishop Anthony Percy and Bishop Emeritus Terence Brady concelebrated the\u00a0farewell\u00a0Mass, joined by\u00a0a large number of\u00a0Sydney clergy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Meagher as the\u00a011th Bishop of Rockhampton in April<\/a>, succeeding Bishop Michael McCarthy. The former auxiliary bishop of Sydney will be installed in Rockhampton later this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opening his homily, Bishop Meagher thanked the priests and faithful who had come to the cathedral, before reflecting on the movement and hardship described in the readings of the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Bishop Tony Percy, Bishop Daniel Meagher, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, Bishop Richard Umbers and Bishop Emeritus Terence Brady. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography \u00a9 2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first reading, St Paul is stoned and left for dead, but he gets back up again\u2026and just keeps going,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drawing parallels between St Paul\u2019s missionary journeys and his own impending move north, Bishop Meagher admitted he was approaching the transition with mixed emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would think that I would be utterly fearless in moving to Rockhampton,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSadly, no. I find my emotions on a real roller coaster.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He compared himself to St Peter stepping from the boat into stormy seas, explaining that like all Christians he could become distracted by \u201cthe waves and the wind\u201d rather than keeping his eyes fixed on Christ.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bishop also acknowledged the many challenges facing the church in Sydney and beyond, including preparations for the International Eucharistic Congress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut remember, Jesus offers us his peace,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy peace I bequeath you\u2026which is to say, my presence, I give you myself. This is the peace of the risen Christ, the conqueror of the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Bishop Daniel Meagher\u2019s farewell Mass. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography \u00a9 2026<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the demands of ministry, Bishop Meagher encouraged Catholics to remain steady and hopeful even amid difficulty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen everything might go pear shaped, and when we feel beaten and bruised, we can remember St Paul stoned and left for dead,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u00a0whatever happens, the truth is we must go on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He described proclaiming the Gospel as the church\u2019s essential task.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGod has entered human life, has conquered our sin, and now offers his life, his divine life, to everyone,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise you, there is nothing more important.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bishop Meagher concluded his homily by thanking the people of Sydney for the years of ministry they had shared together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGod bless our people. God keep us all on the way that leads to eternal life,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Many from the community cam out to farewell Bishop Daniel Meagher. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography \u00a9 2026<\/p>\n

In remarks\u00a0at the end of Mass, the bishop made special mention of the\u00a0community of David\u2019s Place<\/a>\u00a0the Kings Cross ministry\u00a0of spiritual friendship\u00a0which serves many of Sydney\u2019s homeless and marginalised and with which he has long been associated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He thanked\u00a0Sue Buckingham and\u00a0members of the community who attended the Mass, saying he especially appreciated their presence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bishop Meagher also praised Archbishop Fisher\u2019s leadership of the archdiocese and the energy surrounding Sydney\u2019s evangelisation efforts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He pointed particularly to the work of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, Sydney Catholic Schools, and CCD Sydney which supports catechists in public schools, as well as preparations for the International Eucharistic Congress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat things are happening in Sydney,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting. It\u2019s alive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a final symbolic gesture, Bishop Meagher noted that the crosier he carried during the Mass had belonged to the late Archbishop Edward Bede Clancy and had been handed to him by Archbishop Fisher before the procession\u00a0preceding the Mass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very beautiful gesture indeed,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bishop Daniel Meagher at his farewell. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography \u00a9 2026 Bishop Daniel Meagher bid goodbye…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7277,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[8603,7791,8604,247],"class_list":["post-7276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-bishop-daniel-meagher","tag-hero","tag-st-marys-cathedral","tag-sydney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}