Cardinal George Pell AC was born in Ballarat on 8 June 1941. The Cardinal has a
Doctorate in Patristics from Oxford and a Masters of Education from Australia. Made a
Bishop in 1987 he became subsequently Archbishop of Melbourne and from 2001 until
2014 served as Archbishop of Sydney. He was created a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in 2003 and has served on many Vatican Congregations and Committees.
In 2014 he was asked by Pope Francis to become the first Prefect of the newly created Secretariat for the Economy which oversees the finances in the Holy See and the Vatican City State.Particularly interested in education, Cardinal Pell is a long-time Richmond supporter who signed to play football with Richmond during the last year of school at St. Pat’s Ballarat in 1959. He made the difficult choice to forgo this to study for the Catholic priesthood for his Diocese of Ballarat.
“ACSA is a sign of hope and vitally important for the future of Christian values in Australia. I am very proud of my small part in the reestablishment of this life-giving force. God speed.” – George Cardinal Pell, Prefect, Secretariat for the Economy.