Father Bob Maguire, charity campaigner and Catholic priest, dies aged 88

Fr. Bob Maguire

Social justice campaigner and “people’s priest” Father Bob Maguire has died aged 88.

The media personality and Roman Catholic priest dedicated his life to standing up for the poor and marginalised and clashed with church hierarchy over his forced retirement.

The Father Bob Maguire Foundation confirmed he died on Wednesday morning at Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne.


Variously described as a maverick, a “kick-arse dude in a robe” and an “anti-Catholic lowlife”, the Catholic priest Father Bob Maguire became the darling of the people – and the media – for his community work and his often acerbic statements delivered with humour, irreverence and hyperbole.

Maguire, who has died aged 88, defiantly and tirelessly advocated for the underdog using his most powerful tool: charisma. Candid and controversial, he brought a legion of new adherents to the church with his distinctive approach and unwavering commitment to feeding and housing the poor, the hungry and the homeless of Melbourne.

He also regularly butted heads with the church hierarchy, who found his forthright, populist approach to Catholicism difficult to contain and who eventually drove him from his parish after almost four decades. His enthusiastic embodiment of the principles of Vatican II, a modernised Catholicism initiated by Pope John XXIII in 1958, led him to clash with the church’s more traditional members, among them Cardinal George Pell who, according to Maguire, considered Vatican II devotees to be “cafeteria Catholics”.

At 77, having spent 38 years as priest of St Peter and Paul in South Melbourne, Maguire found himself without a parish. He had declined a request from then archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, to retire at 75 but fought the church for two years before giving way. Maguire vigorously contested allegations by the church that he had mismanaged parish funds.

Without a pulpit, Maguire turned his formidable vigour to sharing his message of charity and compassion in other ways and found social media, radio, television and online forums the ideal tools. He had almost 126,000 Twitter followers (“The Larrikin priest … patron of the unloved and unlovely”), 37,000 views of his cover version of Kanye West’s Jesus Walks, and sold bobblehead dolls to raise money for the Father Bob Foundation.

In 2014, in an effort to gauge the happiness of Australians, he organised a competition offering as first prize the chance to work in one of the foundation’s soup kitchens. In May 2022 Maguire criticised the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, for his government’s decision to pass voluntary assisted dying laws.

 

Fr. Bob Maguire
Maguire with Anthony Albanese and Labor candidate for the seat of Higgins, Michelle Ananda-Rajah, and Labor MP for the seat of Macnamara, Josh Burns, in Melbourne during the 2022 federal election campaign. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Williams remembered Maguire as a wise, caring, smart and very funny man, although trying to pin him down became one of her most difficult assignments.

“It was like trying to catch a shooting star, and every time you felt you had a firm grip, you just had to close your eyes and hang on, with absolutely no idea where you’d end up,” she said.

Robert John Maguire was born in Melbourne on 14 September 1934, the fifth and youngest child of James and Annie Maguire who had emigrated from Scotland. One sister died very young, another when Maguire was 11. He grew up in abject poverty, his father a brutal drunk who would beat his mother and spend the rent money at the pub, forcing the family to move house frequently. He wore his brother’s hand-me-downs and often did not have socks. Maguire’s schoolfriends described him as a meek, conscientious and not very sociable boy.

“I wasn’t particularly interested in trying new things or changing the world. I was too busy just trying to survive,” he told Williams.

By the time he began high school at Christian Brothers College, St Kilda, Maguire’s father and favourite sister were dead, and by 15 he was an orphan. However, through school cadets Maguire began to gain confidence and develop leadership skills and when one of his friends declared he was going to become a priest, Maguire decided he would too.

“I wanted to work towards making the world a fairer place, to help people who were up against it to get ahead. It was also serendipity. It meant I’d have a home, and food, for the next few years,” he said.

He entered Werribee’s Corpus Christi College seminary at 18, where he also discovered beekeeping and studied the work of Catholics known for their social activism such as the French resistance fighter Abbé Pierre and the American Dorothy Day. Maguire was ordained in July 1960 in the wake of Vatican II’s transformations and spent the next 13 years serving as an assistant across seven Victorian parishes, where his casual and irreverent style occasionally raised eyebrows.

“For us kids, he was like a pied piper. He had a radical style in the way he presented himself, he could be like a stand-up comedian, holding an audience for long periods, and he had a great gift for explaining himself,” one former congregant told Williams.

In 1969, Maguire was approached to become an army chaplain and work with Vietnam war draftees at the Puckapunyal base in Victoria. He enjoyed the teamwork and order of the army and communicated well with the young soldiers, once turning the bonnet of a Jeep into an altar while in the bush.
Father Bob Maguire, parish priest at St Peter and Paul’s in South Melbourne for nearly 40 years and former co-host of Sunday Night Safran on Triple J for a decade, at the headquarters of the Father Bob Foundation in Albert Park.

 

Maguire established the Father Bob Foundation in 2003 to provide food relief, education, social inclusion and advocacy programs to marginalised people. Photograph: Melissa Davey/The Guardian

“You bond with your mates and you get the job done, just like Jesus and his 12 mates did,” was his message to the troops.

Maguire achieved the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and in 1973, was offered his first full-time job – as parish priest of St Peter and Paul – where he remained until his last service in January 2012.

He established the Father Bob Foundation in 2003 as a means to provide a range of food relief, education, social inclusion and advocacy programs to marginalised people. The grassroots organisation targets homelessness, digital poverty and food insecurity in inner Melbourne through its teams of volunteers, known as the Bob squad, and Bobmobile food vans.

“The poor matter because not only are they the majority, but they’re also the treasure trove of wisdom and resilience,” Maguire said in 2019. “The elites might have everything but they know nothing.”

Maguire was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 for his service to homeless youth.

Father Bob Maguire, priest and community worker, born 14 September 1934; died 19 April 2023

 

Fr. Bob Maguire
Vale, Father Bob Maguire

 

‘𝔅𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔥𝔲𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔢𝔬𝔲𝔰𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰, 𝔊𝔏𝔉 𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔰𝔣𝔦𝔢𝔡’. – 𝔐𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔴 5:6

ℑ𝔫 𝔥𝔬𝔫𝔬𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔉𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔅𝔬𝔟 𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔲𝔦𝔯𝔢,

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔢𝔬𝔭𝔩𝔢’𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔡𝔦𝔡 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔯𝔢,

ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔞 𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔠𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔭𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔡,

ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔪𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔞𝔤𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔢, 𝔞𝔡𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔡.

 

ℌ𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔷𝔢𝔡,

ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔩 𝔞 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔳𝔦𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔦𝔷𝔢𝔡,

ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫, 𝔞𝔫 𝔲𝔫𝔴𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱,

𝔊𝔲𝔦𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔲𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔰.

 

𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔰𝔬 𝔯𝔞𝔯𝔢,

ℌ𝔢 𝔰𝔭𝔬𝔨𝔢 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔬 𝔭𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔠𝔞𝔯𝔢,

ℌ𝔢 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔰 𝔮𝔲𝔬 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔪𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱,

𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔡𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱.

 

𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔰, 𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔞 𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔡𝔞𝔴𝔫,

𝔄 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔫𝔢,

𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔬𝔫, 𝔯𝔢𝔤𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔯 𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯,

𝔚𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔰 𝔢𝔮𝔲𝔞𝔩 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔞 𝔟𝔯𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯.

 

𝔉𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔅𝔬𝔟, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔞 𝔤𝔲𝔦𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯,

𝔄 𝔰𝔶𝔪𝔟𝔬𝔩 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔰𝔞𝔴,

𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔩𝔢𝔤𝔞𝔠𝔶 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱,

𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔲𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱’𝔰 𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱.

 

𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔞 𝔭𝔬𝔢𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔢𝔬𝔭𝔩𝔢,

𝔄 𝔰𝔞𝔤𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔰, 𝔞 𝔰𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱,

𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔩𝔢𝔤𝔞𝔠𝔶 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔬𝔫 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯,

𝔄𝔰 𝔞 𝔰𝔶𝔪𝔟𝔬𝔩 𝔬𝔣 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔡𝔢𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.

 

𝔖𝔬 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔲𝔰 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔲𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔤𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫,

𝔗𝔬 𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔳𝔦𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫,

𝔘𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔦𝔤𝔫𝔰,

𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔠𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔰.

 


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