Paul Bird (bishop)

Paul Bird C.Ss.R. (born 1949) is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ballarat.

The Most Reverend Paul Bird C.Ss.R.
8th Roman Catholic Bishop of Ballarat
Church	Roman Catholic
Diocese	Ballarat
Appointed	1 August 2012
Predecessor	Peter Connors
Orders
Ordination	17 May 1975 by John Toohey (Bishop of Maitland)
Consecration	16 October 2012 by Denis Hart (Archbishop of Melbourne)
Personal details
Birth name	Paul Bernard Bird
Born	17 July 1949 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Denomination	Roman Catholicism
Parents	Maurice and Olive Bird (née Burley)
Motto	Peace be with you

Bird was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, on 17 July 1949. He attended Catholic primary and high schools in the Newcastle area. He joined the formation program of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in 1968 and studied at the Redemptorist seminary at Wendouree near Ballarat for four years before completing his studies at the Yarra Theological Union in Melbourne.[1] He was ordained as a priest on 17 May 1975 and appointed Bishop of Ballarat on 1 August 2012.[2]

In 2016, Bird stated that the estate of a former Bishop of Ballarat, Ronald Mulkearns, had been left to the diocese and would be set aside to help victims of child sexual abuse committed by priests in the diocese. As bishop, Mulkearns had facilitated moving the priests to different parishes.[3]

See also

• Roman Catholic Church in Australia

References

1. "BISHOP PAUL BIRD CSsR - Eighth Bishop of Ballarat". Our Diocese. Catholic Diocese of Ballarat. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
2. "Bishop Paul Bernard Bird, C.SS.R." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
3. "Abuse victims to benefit from estate of former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns". ABC. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2017.