Father Bob
|
The Reverend Father Bob Maguire AM RFD |
|
|---|---|
| Church | Sts Peter and Paul |
| In office | 1973–2012 |
| Predecessor | Lou Heriot |
| Successor | Julian Messina OFM Cap |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 24 July 1960 |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Robert John Maguire |
| Born |
14 September 1934 Thornbury, Victoria |
| Denomination | Roman Catholicism |
| Parents | Annie McLoughlin and James Maguire |
| Occupation |
Priest Radio presenter Community worker |
| Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Melbourne |
| fatherbobsfoundation.com.au | |
Robert John Maguire, AM RFD (born 14 September 1934) is 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. Commonly known as "Father Bob", Maguire was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 "for service to homeless youth through the Open Family Foundation".
A 102-minute documentary, In Bob We Trust, about Maguire's life and retirement was released in October 2013.
Maguire was born in 1934, the son of a violent alcoholic father, James Maguire, who migrated from Glasgow in 1922. His mother, Annie (née McLaughlin), from Edinburgh, was usually the subject of her husband's beatings, which frequently left her "cut, bloodied and bruised". Maguire was the youngest of four children. His 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". His eldest sibling was Eileen, then Kathleen, then James (Jim) who was eight years older than him, the last child. The family had to move house a number of times when all of the rent money was spent on drink. James Maguire was often found unconscious in the street and his son Jim had to drag or carry him back home. Sometimes their father drank Bay Rum, an aftershave lotion. 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".
Maguire attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School in Armadale from 1940 to 1947. He became an altar boy when he turned eight. In 1945, when he was 11, his sister Kathleen died from tuberculosis.
Maguire attended high school at Christian Brothers College, St Kilda, from 1948 to 1953. His father died from lung cancer the year he started school there. His mother died in 1950, aged 61, leaving Maguire orphaned at 15.
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Wikipedia