A Filipino auxiliary bishop has been appointed to lead an Australian diocese just over a year after his episcopal ordination.
Pope Leo XIV named auxiliary bishop Rene Ramirez of Melbourne as the new bishop of the Diocese of Sandhurst.
Ramirez, 57, succeeds Archbishop Shane Anthony Mackinlay, who led the diocese from 2019 until his transfer to the Archdiocese of Brisbane in September 2025.
He becomes the ninth bishop of Sandhurst, a diocese established in 1874 in the state of Victoria.
Born in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, Ramirez joined the Rogationist Fathers and studied philosophy at Adamson University in Manila.
He was ordained a priest in 1998 and later pursued studies in spirituality and social communications at the Pontifical Gregorian University after moving to Rome in 2003.
Returning to the Philippines in 2006, he served as a seminary spiritual director and later led St. Hannibal Rogate Center in Parañaque City before his assignment abroad.
He was assigned to Australia in 2015 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 named auxiliary bishop of Melbourne on Nov. 8, 2024, and ordained a bishop on Feb. 1, 2025. He is the first bishop in Australia of Filipino descent.
“We congratulate Bishop Ramirez and are thrilled to welcome him back to the Diocese of Sandhurst,” the diocese said in a statement.
There are at least two Filipino bishops serving in Australia. Aside from Ramirez, Nelson Po has been serving as auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Perth since April 2025.
