The last meeting of the Oceania Regional Council

“We speak with you today to mark a milestone—the last meeting of the Oceania Council. Milestones can be helpful because they encourage us to reflect on the past and look toward the future.  Leadership in dynamic times always requires different skills than required in the past”, said Br. Josep Maria Soteras, General Councillor, during the last meeting of the Oceania Regional Council, held on August 17 (read the message).

At the last meeting, a tribute was paid to all the Marists whose commitment and work have enabled the council to function so effectively over the last 11 years. The former Administrative Unit leaders since 2010 Brothers Carl Tapp, Jeff Crowe, Julian Casey, David McDonald, Peter Carroll, Jean Marie Batick, John Hazelman. The coordinating roles of Anthony Robison and later Kevin Wanden. The many members of com-mittees, commission, working parties, groups as well as past and current members of the Oceania Council. This process had laid out the initial work towards the formation of the new province that we are now undertaking.

“Like Marcellin, the past and present leaders within the region of Oceania welcomed collaboration and cooperation. Even before the creation of Oceania Council, there had been a great deal of cooperation between the Provinces of Melbourne, Sydney, New Zealand, and the District of Melanesia, particularly in formation and Marist laity. The aim of these efforts of collaboration was quite simple: to seek input from multiple perspectives and to value diverse points of views”, recalled Br. Josep Maria referring to the formation of the Council.

A Brief History

In December 2010, the Provincial Chapters of Melbourne, New Zealand and Sydney and the District Council of Melanesia petitioned the Superior General to restructure to form the Region of Oceania. The following statement was adopted: We, the delegates of our Brothers, in a spirit of mutual respect and concern for the wellbeing of each other and the future of Marist life and mission in Oceania, commit ourselves to the establishment of a new governance and canonical structure.

The first meeting of the Oceania Council (est. 2010) occurred in April 2012. The mandate of the Oceania Council was to promote greater collaboration for “vitality and viability for mission” across Oceania. To give effect to this new responsibility, the Oceania Council set up a number of Oceania Commissions to develop practical collab-oration in the areas of Brotherhood, Ministry, Formation, Finance, and Solidarity. From the outset, committed Lay Marists were appointed to participate as equal members of the various Commissions.

Memorandum of Understanding between the Administrative Units of Australia, Melanesia and the Pacific was approved by the Superior General and his Council on June 17th, 2013.

With the implementation of the New Models project in 2015 discussions were focused on reconfiguring the Oceania Region. Following the meeting of the extended General Council at Mittagong in October 2016 it was agreed that the councils of the three administrative units (Australia, Melanesia and Pacific) would meet together in April and August 2017. These discussions proposed that a single administrative unit be formed in Oceania.

During 2018-19, the College of Leaders engaged a Change Management Consultant, Mr. Peter Cranko, to assist in the process of determining a pathway forward for Oceania. This process resulted in a workshop of representatives from Australia, Melanesia, and the Pacific in March 2020.

At the conclusion of that workshop, it was unanimously agreed to recommend to the respective Councils of the administrative units that one new Province in Oceania be established. The Councils of the Province of Australia and the Districts of Melanesia and the Pacific unanimously accepted this recommendation and petitioned General Council on 20th July 2020 to form a single administrative unit. The General Council on 12th September 2020, approved the request and endorsed the plan to move to a single administrative unit for Oceania by the end of 2022.