Papal knighthood for John Spillane
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| Bishop Anthony Fisher OP welcomes John Spillane to the Equestrian Order of St Silvester. Photography: Alphonsus Fok and Grace Lu. |
Catholic Outlook, May 2012
On 15 April this year, Bishop Anthony Fisher OP invested John Spillane as a Knight of the Equestrian Order of St Silvester, Pope at the 11am Mass in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Parramatta.
In his 15 years with the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta, John was the General Manager of the Diocesan Development Fund (DDF) from 1996-2000 when he was appointed Diocesan Financial Administrator, a position he held until 2011.
John said he was pleased and honoured to accept the Papal knighthood as recognition for his work for the Church and particularly for the Diocese.
“I have been privileged to have been given the opportunity to be a part of the Diocese and to have served under three bishops; Bishop Bede Heather who initially employed me, Bishop Kevin Manning who I worked with for the majority of my time at the Diocese, and Bishop Anthony Fisher OP who has presented me with this award.
"Achievements are important but equally important is the spirit in which they are carried out – for this reason, this award belongs to many people.
“My wife Michele and our four children provide me with the reasons and support for what I do.
“I admire and thank Bishop Kevin for his leadership and for the trust he placed in me in the years I worked with him, particularly during the rebuilding of St Patrick’s Cathedral and in the administration of the Diocese.
“The many others including the Chancery and ministry staff, the clergy and parish secretaries, Catholic Education staff, committee members and professional colleagues who were all involved and supportive of the work carried out over the past 15 years.”
As General Manager of the DDF, John was responsible for the administration and management of the fund to provide efficient banking services and support to all parishes, schools and agencies of the Diocese.
John provided support through the introduction the financing of Catholic Fundraising and from 1996-2000, depositors’ funds, loans and operational surplus increased by more than 65%, enabling the Bishop to fund many pastoral initiatives in Western Sydney.
As Diocesan Financial Administrator John’s role covered responsibility for the temporal goods of the Diocese, not in a narrow financial sense but including all property, investments, overview of parishes and ministries, legal matters and insurances.
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