Columban Fr Tony Cox has been appointed National Director of Stella Maris Australia. He will run the national office from the Stella Maris Centre Melbourne and has had significant experience in supporting seafarers.
On leaving school, he worked for the Melbourne Harbour Trust Commissioners (now the Port Authority) and, on joining the Columbans and being ordained in 1978, he served mainly in Japan with postings in Chicago and New Zealand.
On returning to Australia, Fr Cox was based mainly in Melbourne where he was able to rekindle his passion for working with seafarers visiting the Port of Melbourne as a volunteer as well as working as a chaplain in a number of Catholic schools.
Bishop Tim Norton, the Bishop Promotor for Stella Maris, said Fr Cox’s appointment follows “a re-imagining of the operation of Stella Maris (previously The Apostleship of the Sea)”.
“This involved seeking the advice of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the Vatican and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference in relation to how Stella Maris has operated in the past and could operate in the future,” Bishop Norton said.
“The national committee of Stella Maris Australia undertook a consultation with SMA centres and chaplaincies across Australia in relation to what structure would best meet their needs and particularly the needs of the seafarers and fishers visiting the seaports of Australia.
“The very clear message was that the National Office should be placed in an existing SMA centre, big enough to provide space for an office, and one that is reasonably close to a major seaport.
“This is what we have done. I am grateful to Stella Maris Centre Melbourne for agreeing to accommodate the national office at that centre.
“We are very fortunate to have secured Fr Tony’s passion and skills to undertake this important role.”
We wish Fr Tony well in his new role.
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