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Return To Top News StoriesFather Bob visits on eve of retirement
Published: Friday, 27 January 2012
At its traditional Commencement Service Mentone Grammar always seeks to invite speakers that will be of interest to the audience, and Father Bob Maguire certainly fits that category. The outspoken priest is well known around Melbourne and Victoria for his charity work for the underprivileged and for his unorthodox approach and media profile.
“Whether you agree with him or not, he always has interesting things to say,” says Rev’d Roger Williams, School Chaplain.
The following comments were amongst the many messages Father Bob shared at the Service, held in St Augustine’s Anglican Church this morning, for one of his last public appearances:
About his work for the underprivileged: “I’m just looking for God.”
To our academic staff, “I beg you to start off the school year with the great opportunity to become more deeply spiritual with the assistance of religion.”
On how he is feeling about finishing up as a Priest this weekend, “I am afraid to leave South Melbourne and I am scared I will lose God, as God is in the poor people.”
To the Mentone Grammar audience, “Reassurance is a rare thing, and you’ve given it to me this morning.”
Fr Bob was thanked for his work in meeting people who would normally not be touched by the Church. On behalf of the School, Rev’d Williams presented him with a copy of a book about Desmond Tutu. The words in the introduction about Tutu could very well be echoed about Father Bob.
Father Bob retires from his priesthood at Sts. Peter and Paul South Melbourne this Sunday.
Excerpt from the introduction by Mr Peter O’Gorman, grand-nephew and middle school teacher at MG:
“Father Bob Maguire has spent the majority of his 77 years looking for ways to make the lives of others better. He became the Parish Priest of St. Peter and Paul’s Catholic Church in South Melbourne in 1973, a position he has treasured. In part due to his own turbulent younger years, Bob has always had a soft side for the disadvantaged in our society and, in a very hands-on way, has worked with the sick, the homeless, the criminal and the addicted.
The Father Bob Maguire Foundation encompasses several initiatives for the hungry and homeless, including Open Family which he co founded in 1978. He was awarded an Order of Australia in 1989 and was named the Victorian of the Year in 2011, both for his work with the disadvantaged.
Bob regularly appears on radio, particularly 3AW and Triple J, where he hosts a hugely popular Sunday night program with Melbourne Jewish comedian John Safran. He appears on TV shows such as Sunrise and the 7pm project and is a regular ‘dial a quote’ priest for all the newspapers.
There are not many 77 year olds like Bob – he uses Twitter incessantly, attends Melbourne Storm games as their ambassador yet really has no idea about the game rugby league, and most impressively can just as easily hold a conversation with a gathering of 150 people, or a drug fuelled teenager who has no money, a penchant for violence and who works the streets at night as a way of fuelling their habit. This week marks the end of Bob’s tenure at South Melbourne.”
For further information about Father Bob and his Foundation, go to http://fatherbob.org.au/ or you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.