Fr Chris joined the MGLs in 1994 after a brief and unspectacular stint as a law student. After his ordination in 2002, he was appointed assistant priest and then parish priest at St Benedict’s, Narrabundah in the ACT, and was also chaplain to a Catholic boys high school. He was the coordinator of the pilgrimage of the World Youth Day Cross and Icon in preparation for World Youth Day 2008. He was then appointed rector of the MGL seminary in Melbourne from 2009 to 2016. He was appointed parish priest of Our Lady of Fatima Peakhurst in 2017. He loves reading, bushwalking, and swimming in the surf.
Missionaries of God’s Love
Our Lady of Fatima Peakhurst is under the care of the Missionaries of God’s Love (MGL), a congregation of priests and consecrated brothers. This mission focuses on evangelisation and the service of the poor, which we undertake in collaboration with lay people. The MGLs always seek to empower the laity in their own journey as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ. The MGLs in parish ministry seek to proclaim the Gospel, celebrate the sacraments and lead others through service and by empowering people to exercise their gifts in ministry and service of others.
Fr Chris Ryan MGL
Parish Priest
Fr Tony Alex MGL
Assistant Priest
Fr Tony is from India. He has a Bachelor of Economics and an MBA and was climbing the corporate ladder when he heard the call of God. He has been involved in various forms of Leadership and Mission for the last 20 years. He has studied, ministered and done pastoral work in India, Germany, Ghana, Italy, New Zealand and Malta, and is used to ministering across cultures. He loves playing tennis and cricket. He is a keen follower of the soccer club FC Barcelona. He joined the MGLs in 2018. In 2020 he took responsibility as being the delegate of the parish priest for the pastoral care and regular administration of the parish.
Fr Brian Steele MGL
Assistant Priest
Fr Brian was born in Albury NSW and grew up in Perth. He joined the MGLs in 1992 in Canberra and was ordained with Fr Chris Ryan in December 2002. He spent nine years in the Philippines with the MGL mission as an assistant priest in a parish. Before coming to Sydney, he was appointed to our MGL mission with an Indigenous community in Darwin and spent six years there working as a chaplain to the St Martin’s Catholic Aboriginal Community. Fr Brian enjoys nature walks, writing poetry and journal writing. Before he was in the MGL he was a bartender! Fr Brian finds people very interesting and believes every person has a story to tell. He is back in Sydney after more than 25 years and says “Some things have changed; although the traffic hasn’t!”