Bob Maguire

Robert John Maguire AM RFD (14 September 1934 – 19 April 2023), also known as Robert John Thomas Maguire and commonly known as Father Bob, was an Australian Roman Catholic priest, community worker, and media personality from South Melbourne. From 1973 to 2012, Maguire was parish priest of Sts. Peter and Paul's Church in South Melbourne. Known for his social justice advocacy and care for the disadvantaged members of society, Maguire was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 for his services to homeless people through the Open Family Foundation.

The Reverend

Bob Maguire

AM RFD
Maguire in the early 1960s
ChurchRoman Catholic
In office1973–2012
PredecessorLou Heriot
SuccessorJulian Messina OFM Cap
Orders
Ordination24 July 1960
Personal details
Born
Robert John Maguire

(1934-09-14)14 September 1934
Thornbury, Victoria, Australia
Died19 April 2023(2023-04-19) (aged 88)
Malvern, Victoria, Australia
DenominationRoman Catholic
ParentsAnnie McLoughlin and James Maguire
Occupation
Alma materCorpus Christi College, Melbourne
fatherbobsfoundation.com.au

Maguire remained active in community work in his retirement, as the Chairman of The Fr Bob Maguire Foundation.

Early life and education

Robert John Maguire[1] was born on 14 September 1934[2] in the Melbourne suburb of Thornbury.[3] His father, James Maguire, was a violent alcoholic who migrated from Glasgow in 1922. His mother, Annie (née McLaughlin), from Edinburgh,[4] was usually the subject of her husband's beatings, which frequently left her "cut, bloodied and bruised". Maguire's only memory of his father taking any notice of him was when "he'd been away and when he came home, he beat me with his belt".

Maguire was the youngest of four children. His eldest sibling was Eileen, then Kathleen, then James (Jim), who was eight years older. The family had to move house a number of times when all of the rent money was spent on drink. The family was very poor, and the young Maguire had to borrow his brother's old services overcoat to hide the holes in the clothes he wore to school, and he rarely had socks. He "looked up to his long-suffering mum" and saw her as a "model of Christian piety".[5]

Maguire attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School in Armadale from 1940 to 1947, and became an altar boy when he turned eight. Maguire received a scholarship from the RSL to attend the private school Christian Brothers College, St Kilda from 1948 to 1953.[6]

His sister Kathleen died from tuberculosis in 1945, when he was 11.[5] His father died from lung cancer in 1948, and his mother died in 1950, aged 61, leaving Maguire orphaned at 15.[5]

Upon confirmation in the Catholic Church, per custom,[7] he adopted the confirmation name Thomas and became Robert John Thomas Maguire.[8][9]

Priesthood

In 1953, at age 18, Maguire began studying theology at Corpus Christi College, Melbourne, where he received his training for the priesthood.[5] During this time he was a beekeeper, which he described as "one of the finest periods of my life".[10] He was ordained on 24 July 1960 at age 25.[11]

In 1965, Maguire joined the Australian Army Reserve. During the Vietnam War era, as a lieutenant colonel, he was commanding officer of the Character Training Unit for young officers.[6]

From 1973 to 2012, Maguire was parish priest of Sts. Peter and Paul's Church in South Melbourne.[6][12]

Other activities

Father Bob Maguire Foundation

The Father Bob Maguire Foundation began in 2003 "in an attempt to gather all my social investments together under one Board of Governance". The "Bob Squad" is the Father Bob Maguire Foundation's volunteer fund-raising and welfare provision arm, which is styled on and inspired by Maguire's sense of revolutionary approach to social justice. Its slogan is "Viva La Bob" and social media activity were designed to suggest a similarity to the activities of Che Guevara and Martin Luther King Jr. In the mid-1980s, Maguire started Open Family Australia, providing aid to the street children of Melbourne.[13]

Maguire remained as the chairman of The Fr Bob Maguire Foundation after retirement.[14] The Foundation, which operates within the City of Port Phillip, is engaged in the local community as a grassroots organisation, and conducts such activities as delivering meals, providing food from its pantry, and social advocacy.[15]

Social justice and other community work

"Father Bob", as he was affectionately called, was known as a "social justice warrior", one who cared deeply about the well-being of the poor, disadvantaged, the homeless, and other vulnerable members of society.[16]

Maguire was the patron of Dance World, a local dance studio that offers scholarships and opportunities to local children. Maguire was previously chairman of Open Family and involved in Emerald Hill Mission, having been an integral part of the establishment of both organisations. According to Maguire, the most important funeral he ever conducted was that of Victor Peirce.[17]

Media work

Maguire hosted a radio show on Melbourne radio station 3AW.[18]

He made a guest appearance on the SBS television program John Safran vs God with the Melbourne satirist and documentarian John Safran. From November 2005 to January 2006, he joined Safran as co-host of Speaking in Tongues on SBS television.[19] He was a co-host of Sunday Night Safran on Australian national youth radio station Triple J on Sunday nights and accumulated more than 120,000 followers on Twitter.[20]

In October 2009 Maguire started working as a judge for the public speaking contest Strictly Speaking, which aired in late 2010. He joined other judges, including Jean Kittson and host Andrew Hansen.[21]

Later life

On 7 September 2009, Maguire announced on his blog that he had been contacted by church authorities and asked to tender his resignation on his upcoming 75th birthday. He replied with a public announcement that he would leave the decision of whether he should stay or go to his congregation. Maguire was finally forced to retire at age 77. He held his last church service on 29 January 2012 at Sts. Peter and Paul's Church in South Melbourne. It was reported as standing room only with at least 1,000 in attendance.[22]

Maguire's life and forced retirement was the subject of the 2013 feature-length documentary In Bob We Trust, directed by Lynn-Maree Milburn. The documentary premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 27 July 2013.[23][24]

He continued his work at radio station Triple J until the end of 2015.[25]

Maguire died at Cabrini Hospital in Malvern, Melbourne,[26] on 19 April 2023, at age 88.[14]

Honours and awards
?Reserve Force Decoration
15 September 1980National Medal[1][8]
15 May 1986National Medal – 1st Clasp[27]
1 January 2001Centenary Medal "For long service to the congregation of Sts Peter and Paul's Church and the local community"[28]

References
  1. National Medal:
  2. "Fans rally to Father Bob Maguire". The Age. 13 September 2009.
  3. Joseph, Marion. "Father Bob Maguire to head Darebin's Australia Day celebrations". Northcote Leader. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
  4. Death Certificate 10468, Melbourne: Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, 1950
  5. "Father Bob – The Larrikin Priest". Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  6. "About Fr Bob Maguire". Father Bob Maguire Foundation. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014.
  7. "Why do some Catholics pick Confirmation names? --Aleteia". Aleteia. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  9. "Archbishop of Melbourne pays tribute to 'larrikin priest' Fr Bob Maguire, who has died aged 88". The Catholic Weekly. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  10. "Sunday Night Safran". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014.
  11. "Father Bob – The Larrikin Priest". Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  12. "Catholic Parish of Sts. Peter and Paul". Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  13. "President's Message". Father Bob Maguire Foundation. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014.
  14. Callanan, Tim (19 April 2023). "Father Bob Maguire, charity campaigner and Catholic priest, dies aged 88". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  15. "Home". Fr Bob Maguire Foundation. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  16. "Father Bob Maguire remembered as a 'great man' who devoted his life to society's least fortunate". ABC News (Australia). 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  17. Anderson, Paul (2004). Dirty Dozen : Melbourne's gangland killings. Hardie Grant Books. pp. 201–202. ISBN 978-1-74066-574-2.
  18. "Keeping the faith ft. Father Bob Maguire – Newsmodo". Archived from the original on 20 January 2021.
  19. Teeseling, Ingeborg van (13 September 2021). "Father Bob Maguire: The priest who fought the Catholic Church". The Big Smoke. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  20. "@fatherbob" on Twitter
  21. "Strictly Speaking – ABC Television". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  22. Devic, Aleks (29 January 2012). "Crowds fill Father Bob Maguire's church for final service". Herald Sun. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  23. Groves, Don (29 July 2013). "'Patrick' and 'In Bob We Trust' wow MIFF audiences and critics". Inside Film. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  24. "In Bob We Trust". Apparition Entertainment Pty Ltd. October 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014. (Two-minute trailer available on youtube.)
  25. "triplej's Sunday Night Safran". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  26. "Social justice campaigner and self-described larrikin Father Bob Maguire dies aged 88". SBS News. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  27. National Medal – 1st clasp:
  28. "It's an Honour – Honours – Search Australian Honours".
  29. "Member of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour. Australian Government. 12 June 1989. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  30. "Father Bob Maguire named Victorian of the Year". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  31. "Honour roll – Australian of the Year Awards". Archived from the original on 8 January 2017.
  32. "Honour roll – Australian of the Year Awards". Archived from the original on 16 March 2016.
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