The President of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, has paid tribute to Father Gerald O’Collins SJ, who died on August 22 at the age of 93. Source: ACBC media blog.

“The recent death of Father Gerald O’Collins SJ brings to an end a remarkable life marked by faithful and service to the Catholic Church in Australia and around the world and, through his teaching and scholarship, to the wider Christian family in Australia and beyond,” Archbishop Costelloe said in a statement.

“As a Jesuit priest, teacher and scholar, Father O’Collins’ constant concern was to share his faith in the crucified and risen Jesus as the fullness of God’s self-revelation.

“He was well equipped for this task because of his remarkable ability to reconcile the best of biblical scholarship with the richness of the Church’s living and evolving tradition.

“His skills as a writer and communicator enabled him to express this powerful synthesis in an attractive and accessible way.”

Father O’Collins was born in Melbourne in 1931 and joined the Society of Jesus in 1950. He was ordained a priest in Ballarat on 2 January 1963 by his uncle, Bishop James O’Collins.

He became a theologian of worldwide importance. He taught for 33 years at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and published over 70 books and countless articles. He taught many future bishops and supervised their dissertations.

After leaving the Gregorian Church in 2006, Father O’Collins was Research Professor at St Mary’s College, University of Surrey, London, before returning to Australia in 2009, where he was Associate Professor at the Australian Catholic University and Research Fellow at the Catholic Theological College, and taught at the Jesuit College of Spirituality, Melbourne.

“Through his numerous books and articles and through his lasting influence on his students, friends, colleagues and his religious and natural families, he will long remain a source of inspiration and a faithful disciple of Jesus,” said Archbishop Costelloe.

FULL STORY

Bishops’ Conference remembers Father Gerald O’Collins SJ (ACBC Media Blog)

Vale, Father Gerald O’Collins SJ AC (Australian Jesuits)

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