Bishop Gregory Homeming, OCD

Bishop Gregory Paul Homeming is an Australian Chinese born in Sydney on 30th May 1958, the son of Gus and Irene Homeming.

He completed primary education in Shepparton, Victoria, and high school at St Aloysius College, Milsons Point in Sydney.

He took the degrees of Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws at Sydney University, was admitted as a solicitor in 1981 and worked as a lawyer in Sydney at Messrs Allen, Allen & Hemsley from 1981 to 1985.

At the end of 1985 the Bishop joined the Discalced Carmelite Order, making his first profession on 1 February 1987. He completed his priestly studies at the Yarra Theological Union, Melbourne taking the degrees of Bachelor of Theology from the Melbourne College of Divinity and Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Melbourne.

The Bishop was ordained priest on 20 July 1991 and has held, within his Order, the positions of Major Superior (in which role he frequently visited the Carmelite nuns at Goonellabah within the Diocese), Novice Master, Prior (at Varroville and St Ives) and Director of Retreats, a ministry of particular interest to him. Until his appointment as Bishop of Lismore, he was the Regional Vicar (Major Superior) of the Discalced Carmelites in Australia.

The Discalced Carmelite Order is a reform of the ancient Carmelite order (c. 1185) founded by St Teresa of Avila in 1562 with the help of St John of the Cross in 1568. Members of the Order try to live a contemplative life of profound friendship with Jesus Christ, which colours and informs their apostolic activity. What they learn in prayer they pass on to others. Recent saints include St Thérèse of Lisieux, St Edith Stein and St Raphael Kalinowsky.

Coat of Arms

The Bishop has adopted personal arms which may be blazoned, in the language of heraldry:

Gules, a crane in its vigilance Proper; a capo of the Order of Discalced Carmelites Argent and Sable.

and, in plain English:

On a red field stands a crane in its natural colours holding a stone in one claw with the arms of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites across the top of the shield.

In addition to its reference to vigilance, in Chinese symbolism the crane denotes “blessings and eternal life.”

The name Gregory means vigilance to which St Augustine exhorts bishops, using cranes as an example, for their vigilance over their young. The Bishop commits himself to vigilance over the faithful of the Diocese of Lismore and especially the young, the elderly and the vulnerable.

The chief of the arms of the Discalced Carmelites says, in the visual language of heraldry, “Your Bishop is a Carmelite.”

The external ornaments of a processional cross and the green galero with six fiocchi on either side are indicative of the rank of bishop.

The Bishop has adopted as his motto “God Alone Suffices” from St Teresa of Avila, the founder of his Order.

As Bishop of Lismore, the Bishop will display his arms impaled with the arms of the Diocese .

The Bishop’s arms were designed by Revd Father Guy Selvester and Richard d’Apice AM and were illustrated by Sandy Turnbull.