8th ACMRO National Conference 2026

Cardinal Fabio Baggio, C.S., Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, was born in Bassano del Grappa, Italy, on 15 January 1965. In 1976, he entered the Scalabrini-Tirondola Seminary of the Missionaries of Saint Charles, making his perpetual vows in 1991. The following year, on 11 July, he was ordained a priest. In 1998, he earned a doctorate in Church History from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.From 1995 to 1997, while exercising his pastoral ministry in Santiago de Chile, he served as counsellor to the Episcopal Commission for Migrations in Chile (INCAMI). Subsequently, until 2001, he was director of the Department for Migration of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. In 1999, he also held the position of National Secretary of the Pontifical Society of the Propagation of the Faith of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Argentina. From 1999 to 2010, he taught at the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, as well as at the Ateneo de Manila and the Maryhill School of Theology in Quezon City, Philippines, where he was also director of the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC). From 2000, he served as professor at the Scalabrini International Migration Institute (SIMI), which is incorporated into the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. He became its director in 2010.

On 14 December 2016, he was appointed Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. On 23 April 2022, Pope Francis confirmed him in this office, also entrusting him with responsibility for the Section for Migrants and Refugees and Special Projects. On 2 February 2023, Pope Francis further appointed him director general of the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education.

On 31 October 2024, Pope Francis appointed him Titular Bishop of Urusi, conferring on him the personal title of archbishop. He was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the Consistory of 7 December 2024 and was assigned the titular church of San Filippo Neri in Eurosia. From 11 January 2025, Cardinal Baggio has been a member of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. On 1 April 2025, the Holy Father also appointed him a member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.

Dr Trudy Dantis is the director of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference National Centre for Pastoral Research. She holds a doctorate in Pastoral Studies from the University of Divinity, with additional qualifications in Business, Community Resource Management, and Social Work. Her PhD focused on the vitality of Australian Catholic parishes.

She was the lead researcher and Adjunct Secretary for the historic Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Australia. More recently, she served as National Coordinator for the Synod on Synodality (2021–2024) and was appointed a full voting member of the Synod from the Oceania region—one of 52 women to participate in this capacity for the first time in the Church’s history. She now chairs the Interim Coordinating Group for the Synod in Australia, which is tasked with ongoing monitoring of synodal activities.

She is the author of A Handbook for Building Stronger Parishes (2016) and has co-authored several publications on parish vitality, Catholic demographics, and various aspects of Catholic belief and practice in Australia. She also holds honorary appointments at the Australian Catholic University and the University of Divinity and serves as the chair of the Board of the Christian Research Association.

Archbishop Christopher Prowse was appointed Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, Australia in 2013. He was previously the Bishop of Sale Diocese (2009-2013). He was appointed Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Melbourne in 2001. Afterwards he was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in 2001.

Bishop George Kolodziej SDS, the fifth bishop of Bunbury, was born on 17 May 1968 in Dobra, Poland, has been the superior of the Salvatorians in Australia since 16 October 2018. He was a member of various bodies, including the Council of Catholic Religious Australia, the Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Perth, and various other advisory committees in the Archdiocese of Perth, including Catholic Youth Ministry and Clergy Wellbeing. He was also a member of the advisory committee for Catholic School Parents. In addition to these responsibilities, Bishop George Kolodziej also directed the Salvatorian Spirituality Centre in Perth and has served as a chaplain for Catholic Education Western Australia since January 2019.

Bishop George’s religious journey with the Salvatorians began when he entered the novitiate on 7 September 1987. He made his perpetual profession in the Society of the Divine Saviour (SDS) on 8 September 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, Archbishop of Krakow, on 28 May 1994, in Trzebinia, Poland. Later that year, he was sent to the Australian Region of the Salvatorians, where he undertook pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Perth and the Diocese of Bunbury in Western Australia. On 1 January 1996, he was appointed assistant priest of St Anthony’s Parish in Greenmount and began working as a chaplain at Chisholm Catholic College 2 in 1997. He was elected Vice Superior of the Salvatorian Region of Australia on 1 December 1999.

In December 2000, Bishop George began ministry in the Diocese of Broken Bay, serving as school chaplain at St Leo’s Catholic College (2001–2008), assistant priest at Pymble Parish (2001–2003), East Gosford Parish (2003–2008), and later parish priest of Pittwater Parish (2008–2018). He was active in youth ministry, organising World Youth Day pilgrimages and serving on the Australian National World Youth Day Committee. He also held leadership roles, including as a member of the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors for the Diocese of Broken Bay. In 2017, he joined the Salvatorian Formation Commission and served as a spiritual father at the Salvatorian Formation House in Melbourne.