Our Patrons

  • PROFESSOR TRACEY ROWLAND ODM

    Professor Tracey Rowland is the St John Paul II Chair of Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia and was the Dean of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne from 2001 until its closure in 2017. She holds two doctorates in theology—a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the Divinity School of the University of Cambridge and a Doctor of Sacred Theology (STD) from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute within the Lateran University in Rome. She also holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from the Lateran University, a Master of Arts in political philosophy, a Bachelor of Letters in general philosophy and a Graduate Diploma in Modern Languages from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Queensland, and a Diploma in Educational Studies from the University of London.

    Professor Rowland is a Fellow of the College of Teachers of the University of London, an Honorary Fellow of Campion College, Sydney, and an Adjunct Professor of the University of Notre Dame Australia. From 2014–2020. she served as a Member of the International Theological Commission.

    She is the author of over 100 publications in the field of contemporary Catholic theology, especially theological anthropology, including seven books: Culture and the Thomist Tradition: after Vatican II (Routledge: London, 2003); Ratzinger’s Faith (Oxford University Press, 2008), Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed (London: T & T Clark, 2010), Catholic Theology (London: Bloomsbury, 2017), The culture of the Incarnation: Essays in Catholic theology (Steubenville: Emmaus Academic, 2017), Portraits of spiritual nobility: chivalry, Christendom, and Catholic culture (Brooklyn: Angelico Press, 2019), and Beyond Kant and Nietzsche: The Munich Defence of Christian Humanism (London: T & T Clark, 2021).

    In 2010, she was awarded the Archbishop J. Michael Miller award for the Integration of Faith, Culture and Life from the University of St Thomas in Houston, Texas, and, in 2012, she was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. In 2016, she delivered the prestigious Cardinal Winning Memorial Lecture at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

    “It is an honour to be a Patron of the Australian Catholic Students Association which was founded by the late and great Fr Gregory Jordan SJ who was interested in everything from theology to music and drama, current affairs, fashion styles and courtship practices. He was a case study in urbanity. There are rarely times in life which are as adventurous as one’s undergraduate student years. The quality of the adventures depends in large measure on the quality of one’s friends. Fr Jordan’s beloved ACSA is a place to make life-long friends and have some memorable adventures while deepening one’s understanding and practice of the Catholic faith.” —Professor Tracey Rowland.

  • HIS GRACE ARCHBISHOP ANTHONY FISHER OP

    Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP was born in Sydney on 10 March 1960 to Colin and Gloria Fisher, the eldest of five children. His father, Colin, a pharmacist, was of Anglo-Irish heritage and his mother, Gloria, grew up in China and the Philippines, with a Spanish-Basque father and an Egyptian-born (half-Italian, half-Romanian) mother.

    He graduated from St Ignatius’ College in 1977 as dux of the school. Archbishop Fisher attended the University of Sydney, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in history and a Bachelor of Laws. After graduating with First Class Honours, Archbishop Fisher practised law at Clayton Utz in Sydney. He took leave from his legal job and backpacked around Europe to discern his vocation. In 1985, Archbishop Fisher entered the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), a religious congregation dedicated to preaching the Catholic faith in the context of a life of study, prayer and community. He studied for the priesthood in Melbourne, receiving an honours degree in Theology from Yarra Theological Union.

    He worked for a time on immigration and refugee issues at Uniya, a centre for social research in Kings Cross. Archbishop Fisher made his perpetual vows for the Dominicans on 18 February 1987, and was ordained a priest at Holy Name Parish, Wahroonga, on 14 September 1991, by Bishop Eusebius Crawford OP.

    Following his ordination, Archbishop Fisher completed a Doctorate in Bioethics at the University of Oxford on the subject of the just allocation of healthcare. From 1995 to 2000 he was a lecturer in the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne. From 2000 to 2003 he was foundation Director of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family, Melbourne. During this time he was also Master of Students (seminarians) in the Dominican Order and Socius (deputy) to the Provincial.

    The Archbishop has held various committee positions with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. He is also a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Dicastery for Oriental Churches. He is one of the leading Catholic bioethicists in Australia and the world and has spoken extensively on life issues, most notably publishing Catholic Bioethics for a New Millennium.

    On 18 May 2023, ACSA announced that the Archbishop would succeed Cardinal Pell as one of its two National Patrons.

FORMER PATRON

HIS Most Reverend EMINENCE GEORGE CARDINAL PELL AC ♱

George Cardinal Pell AC was born in Ballarat on 8 June 1941. He was ordained a priest in St Peter’s Basilica by Cardinal Gregorio Pietro Agagianian on 16 December 1966. He held a Baccalaureate and Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Urban University, a Doctor of Philosophy in Patristics from Campion Hall in the University of Oxford, and a Master of Education from Monash University. His doctoral thesis is entitled The exercise of authority in early Christianity from about 170 to about 270. He was appointed and consecrated Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in 1987, with the titular see of Scala. In 1996, he succeeded Sir Frank Little as Archbishop of Melbourne and from 2001 until 2014 served as the Archbishop of Sydney. He was created a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in 2003 and served as a member on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and the Congregation for Bishops, and as a member of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.

On 13 April 2013, he was asked by Pope Francis to serve on the Council of Cardinal Advisers, and, in February 2014, was appointed for a five-year term as the inaugural Prefect of the newly created Secretariat for the Economy which oversees the finances of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Particularly interested in education, Cardinal Pell is a long-time Richmond supporter who signed to play football with Richmond during his last year of school at St. Patrick’s College, Ballarat in 1959. He made the difficult choice to forgo this to study for the Catholic priesthood in the Diocese of Ballarat.

“ACSA is a sign of hope and vitally important for the future of Christian values in Australia. I am very proud of my small part in the reestablishment of this life-giving force. God speed.” —George Cardinal Pell, Prefect, Secretariat for the Economy.

His Eminence passed away unexpectedly from complications due to hip replacement surgery on 10 January 2023. The students, alumni, and current and former members of the national executive will miss him dearly and owe him a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid, and which words fail to express. Requiescat in pace.