BRISBANE'S Catholics have a new interim leader after Archbishop John Bathersby's retirement was approved by Pope Benedict XVI Monday night.
The popular archbishop was replaced by an interim leader - Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett, the Bishop of Lismore.
The appointment was effective immediately, ending Archbishop Bathersby's 20-year reign over the Brisbane archdiocese, which extends from the Gold Coast north to Childers, near Bundaberg, and west to Gatton.
Bishop Jarrett, who turns 74 this year, will administer the archdiocese until the Pope appoints a permanent replacement. He practised as an Anglican priest before moving to the Catholic Church in 1965.
The appointment was last night met with surprise by some Catholics, who had expected a permanent replacement or an administrator to be appointed from within the state.
In accordance with Canon Law, bishops are required to offer their resignation to the Pope when they reach 75, which Archbishop Bathersby did in July. He said he was pleased the Pope had accepted his resignation.
"After 25 years as Bishop and 20 as Archbishop I am not as active as I used to be,'' he said.
"It has been a privilege and a lasting joy to have been Archbishop in Brisbane with so many excellent bishops, priests, deacons, religious, friends and lay people. I thank in a special way the auxiliary bishops when I came to Brisbane, and the hard working auxiliaries of the present. I welcome my replacement Apostolic Administrator of Brisbane, Most Rev Geoffrey Jarrett, Bishop of Lismore, and assure him of my support and assistance, if needed.''
Archbishop Bathersby will leave Brisbane for his hometown of Stanthorpe in the coming weeks, where his brother Michael and sister Carmel live.
"I have no doubt my friendships over many years in Brisbane and Stanthorpe will remain strong,'' he said. "I will ensure that my prayers and good wishes will be directed at the huge number of people I have met over many years in Australia and the world. I am a lucky person indeed. I thank all those people in the archdiocese who helped me enormously. May God bless them forever.''
Born in Kyneton, Victoria, Bishop Jarrett spent several years working in London for the Film Unit of BBC Television before studying for the Anglican ministry in Nottinghamshire.
Returning to Australia, he worked as an Anglican priest in Queensland until he was received into the Catholic Church in 1965.
He spent 30 years in Tasmania where he held roles including chaplain within the University of Tasmania and the Catholic Women's League.
He was appointed Bishop of Lismore in December 2000.
Two of Queensland's five dioceses are now vacant, with a new Bishop for Toowoomba yet to be appointed to replace Bishop Bill Morris.
Bishop Morris was controversially ousted from Toowoomba earlier this year.