That’s me on the right, laying hands, at presbyteral ordinations in June 2011 at St Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane

I am a local of Brisbane, Australia.  I completed my primary education at Our Lady of Lourdes School, Sunnybank, and finished secondary education at Clairvaux MacKillop College, Upper Mount Gravatt, in 1992.

I am a Latin Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Brisbane.  I entered Pius XII Provincial Seminary, Banyo, in 1993, and was ordained to the presbyterate on September 14, 2000.

Since presbyteral ordination I have had postings as Associate Pastor in the following parishes: Sacred Heart, Booval;  Infant Saviour, Burleigh Heads;  St Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane;  Noosa District Parish;  and Our Lady of Lourdes, Sunnybank / Our Lady of Fatima, Acacia Ridge.  Following these, I was Parish Priest of St Mary’s, Coomera, for two years.

In September 2010, at the request of Archbishop John Bathersby, I began studies in canon law at Saint Paul University, Ottawa (Canada).  In October 2012 I obtained the degree of Master of Canon Law, and I then completed the requirements for the Licentiate in Canon Law in December 2012, which I was awarded in May 2013.

In January 2013, I was appointed as Judge and Associate Judicial Vicar to the Regional Tribunal of Brisbane.  In 2013 I was Priest-in-Residence at Browns Plains Parish in Brisbane.  I am chaplain to Angelorum, an association of Catholic homeschooling families.  I am also supportively involved with perpetual adoration at Villa Maria, the activities of Frassati Australia, and various pro-life activities in the Archdiocese, including the monthly Rosary procession through the Roma Street Parklands to the abortuary, and the 40 Days for Life.   I also gladly support the pro-life works of Pregnancy Crisis Incorporated, and Cherish Life.

In October 2013, with Archbishop Coleridge’s permission, I became a member of the Brisbane Oratory in Formation project, and look forward to the formal diocesan establishment of our community in 2015.  From January 2014, in addition to my tribunal work, I have been Parish Priest of Annerley Ekibin Parish on Brisbane’s southside.  The current residence of the members of the Brisbane Oratory in Formation project is located in Annerley.

Why this blog?

In a sense I started the blog by accident when I was simply trying to log-in to WordPress so I could “like” a comment on another blog!  I think I checked an extra box that I didn’t need to, and the next minute I had a blog!  But perhaps the time was right too.  I’d been on Facebook for quite a while, and it had been a great tool for keeping in touch with everyone back home in Australia while I was over the seas studying.  One limitation of Facebook, however, is that it only gets to those who are one’s “facebook friends.”  The blog, however, allows anyone who wants to come this way to do so.  It also allows me to leave a comment about things in the public domain.  Apart from being one avenue of keeping in touch with family and friends, I also see the blog as a part of my priestly ministry.  Pope Benedict XVI, on numerous occasions, suggested that priests should be involved in the new means of social communication and to make our contribution.  So here I am!  Pope Francis, in fact, seems to have embraced Twitter even more than his predecessor!

I welcome feedback on the blog: what you like, what you don’t, things you’d like to see.  Add a comment below, or use the “Contact me” button at the top of the page.

You can also find me at:

https://www.facebook.com/adrian.sharp2

https://www.facebook.com/asecularpriest

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/adrian-sharp/34/4b6/bb2

http://ustpaul.academia.edu/AdrianSharp

https://twitter.com/FrAdrianSharp

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/fradriansharp

and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adriansharp/

Whilst studying in Canada, I also contributed to, and worked on, the blog of Saint Paul Students for Life, a pro-life student group at Saint Paul University, Ottawa:  http://stpaulstudentsforlife.ncln.ca/

I now also maintain a blog/website for our parish: http://annerleyekibinparish.com/