Vatican City - This morning Leo XIV made another appointment within the Roman Curia. It is a significant appointment, particularly at a time when the Curia is returning to proper functioning, resuming its work and exercising a concrete role in the governance of the Church.
As is well known, beyond Francis’ decision with Praedicate Evangelium to transform the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts into a Dicastery, this body was never truly listened to, and decisions were taken without genuine consultation of its Prefect, Filippo Iannone. On the one hand, therefore, Francis continued to implement reforms; on the other, the competent body in this field was not involved. Leo XIV, as has already been observed on several occasions, does not intend to govern in this manner. He wants each body to contribute to the governance of the Church in a genuinely synodal spirit and, above all, he wants every person entrusted with an office in the Curia to possess the necessary competence for the role assigned. It is along these lines that this morning Prevost chose to appoint the new Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, selecting, naturally, a qualified canon lawyer.
A new Prefect, a new Dicastery
The choice has fallen on a man described as courteous, attentive and endowed with solid expertise - a profile that will certainly leave a void in Australia. The appointment concerns Mgr. Anthony Randazzo, Bishop of Broken Bay since 2019, President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania since 2023, and currently also Apostolic Administrator of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, the ordinariate established by Benedict XVI through the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus to accompany faithful and clergy coming from Anglicanism into full communion with Rome.
Leo communicated the decision to him on Friday 6 March, and Monsignor Randazzo left that audience deeply moved. It is a role of considerable importance, but also one carrying significant responsibility, and his separation from his diocese is not without weight. The Pope has decided to confer upon him the personal title of Archbishop. He will remain in charge of his diocese and his other responsibilities until June as Apostolic Administrator, after which he will move to the Vatican.
The appointment thus falls on a profile that combines pastoral experience and legal expertise, developed through a path that has seen him serve both in Australian dioceses and within the central structures of the Holy See.
Who is Monsignor Randazzo?
Born in Sydney on 7 October 1966 to a family of Italian origin, Anthony Randazzo grew up in Australia in a family context linked to agricultural work. After his studies in local Catholic schools, he entered the provincial seminary “Pius XII” and attended the University of Queensland, where he obtained a Bachelor of Theology in 1991. Ordained a priest on 29 November of the same year for the Archdiocese of Brisbane, he held various pastoral and governance roles, including parish vicar, episcopal master of ceremonies and secretary of diocesan bodies. From the outset of his ministry, a particular attention to canon law emerged: in 1998 he was sent to Rome to the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he obtained a licentiate and diploma in jurisprudence.
Upon returning to Australia, Randazzo held significant roles within the ecclesiastical judicial system, serving as Adjunct Judicial Vicar and judge of the regional ecclesiastical tribunal, as well as a member of the national appeal tribunal for Australia and New Zealand. At the same time, he was involved in the formation of clergy, also serving as Rector of the Holy Spirit Seminary in Brisbane.
A significant stage in his career was his service at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (now Dicastery), where he worked as an official from 2004 to 2008. This experience placed him directly within the dynamics of the Roman Curia, providing him with a concrete understanding of the procedures and decision-making processes of the Holy See. In 2016 Pope Francis appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney and Titular Bishop of Quiza. Three years later, on 7 October 2019, he was appointed Bishop of Broken Bay, taking possession of the diocese on 4 November. Since 2023 he has also served as President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania, placing him at the centre of ecclesial coordination across a vast and diverse region, and as Apostolic Administrator of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross. The profile that emerges is that of a bishop with solid canonical formation, direct experience in ecclesiastical tribunals, and an internal knowledge of the structures of the Roman Curia. Once again, therefore, Leo XIV has chosen a competent and respected figure for a particularly delicate office. Several reforms are currently under consideration, including one aimed at introducing a specific legal framework concerning spiritual and abuse of power.
Fr G.B.
Silere non possum