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Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, seen here putting oil on a young woman’s forehead during the Easter Vigil Mass in 2024, has been elected to the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod. Photo: Ron Tan/Archdiocese of Perth.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, has been elected to the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod.

Pope Francis expanded the Council to 17 Members, 12 of whom were elected from among the diocesan and eparchial bishops, or equivalent, who are members of the Synod assembly - one from the Eastern Catholic Churches, one from Oceania, and two from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

To these will be added four papal appointments and the head of the Dicastery of the Roman Curia.

Archbishop Costelloe, the Archbishop of Perth, was elected at the at the 15th General Congregation of the Synod of Bishops in Rome as the Representative from Oceania.

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Synod participants speak at a public theological and pastoral forum about the primacy of the pope in a synodal church in Rome on 16 October, 2024. From the left are: Father José San Jose Prisco, dean of the faculty of canon law at the Pontifical University of Salamanca, Spain; Father Dario Vitali, coordinator of theological experts assisting the synod; President of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB; Catherine Clifford, a theologian and member of the synod from Canada; and Klara-Antonia Csiszar, a professor of pastoral theology at the Catholic University of Linz, Austria. Photo: CNS/Lola Gomez.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue the important work of bringing about a synodal Church that listens – listens to the faithful people of God, listens to the College of Bishops and the Holy Father, and listens to the Holy Spirit,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

The Ordinary Council, chaired by the Holy Father, will play a fundamental role in the implementation of the synodal process on synodality and the preparation of the next Synod.

Archbishop of Sydney, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, concludes his mandate at the end of the current assembly.

Fourteen Australians have attended the second session of the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome from October 2 to 27.

The process began in October 2021, inviting people all over the world to express their understanding of a “synodal” Church and provide input into priority issues. After several rounds of global consultations, a “synthesis report” was then produced following the first session held in Rome in October 2023.

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Pope Francis and members of the Synod of Bishops pray at the start of a working session on 4 October, 2024, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. To the left of the Holy Father is Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, Australia, a president delegate at the synod. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media.

The task of the second session has been to complete the discernment begun at the first session and offer the result of this discernment to Pope Francis in a final document.

The final document is expected to be read and voted on during the assembly on Saturday, October 26, followed by a Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, October 27.