Nueva Ecija bishop to head Sandhurst, Australia diocese

MANILA, Philippines — Pope Leo XIV has appointed Filipino auxiliary bishop Rene Ramirez to head the Diocese of Sandhurst in Australia.

According to CBCPNews, the 57-year-old Ramirez will replace Archbishop Shane Anthony Mackinlay, who was transferred to the Archdiocese of Brisbane in September last year.

Ramirez, a native of Gapan in Nueva Ecija, is the ninth bishop of the diocese of Sandhurst.

He joined the Rogationist Fathers for priesthood and was ordained in 1998.

He studied philosophy at Adamson University in Manila and later pursued studies in spirituality and social communications at the Pontifical Gregorian University after moving to Rome in 2003.

Ramirez served as a seminary spiritual director and later led St. Hannibal Rogate Center in Parañaque City before his assignment abroad.

In 2015, he was assigned to Australia and became pastor of Holy Family parish, serving communities in West Footscray, Maidstone and Braybrook within the Melbourne archdiocese.

In 2023, he began ministry in the Sandhurst diocese as parish priest of Shepparton South and Nagambie, and later as supervising priest in Rushworth.

He was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Melbourne on Nov. 8, 2024, and was ordained as bishop on Feb. 1, 2025.