Our History
Saint John Paul II back in 1987 saw the need for an International Missionary Seminary for his Diocese of Rome. He never imagined that through his leading initiative more than 120 Bishops and Cardinals would have followed his courageous example. The first in Australia was Archbishop Barry James Hickey of Perth who in 1991 took the bold step of requesting such a seminary. Later in 2001 it was George Cardinal Pell of Sydney who also discerned the need and opportunity for forming missionary priests. Today we have Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP who urges us on to collaborate with Christ the Good Shepherd, forming pastors ready to accompany his flock.

Diocesan & Neocatechumenal
Redemptoris Mater Sydney is a Seminary of the Archdiocese of Sydney forming missionary priests ready to serve both locally and universally. It is Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, as the Archbishop of Sydney who upon their Ordination will become their Local Ordinary and will determine how these future priests will serve the people of Sydney and beyond. The seminarians all have discovered their vocation through their involvement in the Neocatechumenal Way; a Post-Baptismal Catechumenate sponsored by the Church to lead people to an adult faith, and to the discovery of their vocation.

Missionary: Here & Anywhere

International: No Limits

Community

Initiation to Faith
Intellectual

The seminarians of Redemptoris Mater Sydney receive their academic formation in the seminary itself, from the Catholic Institute of Sydney and from the University of Notre Dame. It takes the equivalent of 5 years full-time study to meet all the academic requirements for Ordination.
Human

“Grace builds on nature” is the traditional teaching of the Church. Ongoing human formation is therefore an important component of seminary formation. We need to be healthy human beings, able to work and colloborate together as a fine team, each recognizing the gifts and talents of the other.
Pastoral

Work in Sydney
Work around Australia
Redemptoris Mater is being sustained by many benefactors from all over Australia who appreciate the need for missionary priests. It is only proper that priests formed here will therefore also be made available by the Archbishop of Sydney to work in more needy dioceses around Australia. All of Australia needs to be evangelized and re-evangelized and for this we need priests to go everywhere!
Work overseas
Redemptoris Mater is one of the important fruits of the renewal called for by Vatican II which spoke of the need to implement special initiatives that would help the better distribution of priests and also tackle the problem of the serious scarcity of priests in many parts of the world. It is a gift also for the Archdiocese to prepare itself to send missionary priests also out of Australia. In fact it is already not unusual to find seminarians and priests of Redemptoris Mater working in the more remote regions of PNG and beyond!
Our People
In 2023 Redemptoris Mater Sydney has become the home of 11 seminarians coming from 8 different countries: Serbia, Colombia, Philippines, Panama, Costa Rica, Peru, Kiribati and Australia; truly a spectacle to behold!
Our Formators

Father Eric Skruzny
He trained initially as a Town Planner at the University of Melbourne, then worked for Local Government before being formed for the priesthood at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Rome.

Father Marlon Henao Perez

Father Gerry Prindiville

Father Moises Tapia Carrasco
Our Pastoral Team

Toto & Rita Piccolo
Itinerants from Rome in Australia since 1977

Fr Tony Trafford
Other Staff Members

Martin
Melbourne

Josephine
Melbourne

Peter
Brisbane

Raffaella
Nusco, Italy

Gian Pietro
Manager of works, from Piacenza, Italy
Our Saints
In addition to the saints who give their time helping us here below, we also have those Saints already in heaven forever interceding for us. We would like to acknowledge them too!

St Vincent de Paul, Patron Saint of RMS Sydney
Expert in helping the poor

Bl Pascual Torres Lloret of Valencia, Spain
Family Man, Builder

St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop
Expert advisor on Education
Our Seminarians
All of our seminarians come with an experience of faith formation lived through their parish based Neocatechumenal Community. None of them have chosen to be formed in Sydney, but have been generous in making themselves available to be formed in any one of the 120 International Missionary Seminaries spread over the five continents around the world.

Deacon Zeljko
Serbia

Deacon Ronny
India – Australia

Alejandro
Colombia

Giovanni
Colombia

Nonie
Philippines

Pablo
Panama

Jorge
Costa Rica

James
Australia

Sebastian
Peru

Gabriel
Columbia

Nakabane
Kiribati

Emmanuel
U.S.A.

Aukitino
Kiribati

You ? Your son? Your grandson ?