Tasmania farewells Bishop-Elect Mark Freeman
By Heather Excell
There was a strong sense of gratitude at St Mary’s Cathedral in Hobart on 2 March as the faithful gathered for a special Mass to farewell Bishop-Elect Mark Freeman, as he prepares to take up his new role as Bishop of the Diocese of Ballarat.
In his homily, Archbishop Tony Ireland reflected on the call of Abram: “Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you… I will bless you… and you yourself will be a blessing.”
“This is not simply a story from long ago,” the Archbishop said. “It is the pattern of every vocation—and today it becomes the story of Fr Mark.”
Archbishop Tony reminded the congregation that following God’s call is never a rejection of the past but an invitation into something larger.
“The journey is not a loss. It is a blessing,” he said. “It is also a sending. When God calls someone, the journey is not undertaken alone. God goes with him.”
Fr Mark spoke at the end of Mass with deep affection for the people of Tasmania.
“I want to express my appreciation for all the people of Tasmania, especially those who make up the family of the Church in this place,” he said.
“You have shown me how to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In your love for me, you have given me the strength to love and to be the person God desires me to be.”
Fr Mark recalled how he was the last priest ordained for the Archdiocese of Hobart by Archbishop Guilford Young, and how the words of his ordination homily pointed him towards a lifelong intimacy with Christ that would be the hallmark of his priesthood.
“Now all these years later,” he reflected, “I am about to leave my home, my father’s house, for a land that the Lord will show me.”
As the first new Australian bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV, he aims to approach his new role with courage, generosity and compassion.
“These are the gifts we need to be faithful to the gospel, and enable all to come to life in Christ, the fullness of life that is God’s desire for us, for all people, and for the whole of creation.”
He asked forgiveness for any times he had failed to live out these characteristics, especially where he has caused hurt, and asked the faithful gathered to pray that he might always be compassionate, generous, and courageous in his new role.
Recalling how his parents, George and Mary, knelt by his bed each night to pray, he spoke simply of the faith that shaped him, and that he has sought to live throughout his whole life, and especially in his ministry.
“Pray that I will ever be a person of faith, of hope, of love,” he said, “and that I will do everything asked of me in faith, in hope and in love.”
With gratitude for the blessing he has been to the community, and with prayer for the road ahead, the Church in Tasmania now sends him forth.