Robert John Maguire (born 14 September 1934) is an Australian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

, community worker and media personality from

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

. 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 The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

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. (Two-minute trailer available on youtube.)

Early life

Maguire was born in 1934, the son of a violent alcoholic father, James Maguire, who migrated from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1922. His mother, Annie (née McLaughlin), from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, 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 Bay rum is a type of cologne and aftershave lotion. Other uses include as under-arm deodorant and as a fragrance for shaving soap, as well as a general astringent. Origins It is a distillate that was originally made in Saint Thomas "and probabl ...

, 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 received a scholarship from the RSL to attend the private school

Christian Brothers College, St Kilda , motto_translation = Virtue Alone Is Noble , established = , type = Independent secondary school , religion = Roman Catholic , denomination = Christian Brothers , trust ...

, 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.

Priesthood

Maguire studied theology at

Corpus Christi College, Melbourne Corpus Christi College is the regional seminary (and theologate) of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The seminary is administered by a board of episcopal trustees comprising the archbishops of Melbourne and Hobar ...

, where he received his training for the priesthood, beginning in 1953 when he was 18. During this time he was a

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

, which he describes as "one of the finest periods of my life". He was ordained on 24 July 1960 at the age of 25. 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. From 1973 to 2012, Maguire was parish priest of Sts Peter and Paul's Church in South Melbourne. 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 fundraising 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 makes many social and pop culture remarks that align it with the fighting spirit of freedom revolutionaries such as

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

and

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

In the mid-1980s, Maguire started Open Family Australia, providing aid to the street children of Melbourne.

Media work

Maguire hosted a radio show on

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

radio station

3AW 3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station. The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co. Hist ...

. He made a guest appearance on the SBS television program ''

John Safran vs God ''John Safran vs God'' is an eight-part television documentary series by John Safran which was broadcast on SBS TV of Australia in 2004. It has been described in a media release as "John Safran's most audacious project yet". It had a much more ...

'' with the Melbourne satirist and documentarian

John Safran , citizenship = , education = , occupation = DocumentarianJournalist Radio presenterAuthor , years_active = 1997 – present , known_for = ''John Safran's Music Jamboree'' ''John Safran vs God'' '' Rac ...

. From November 2005 to January 2006, he joined Safran as co-host of ''

Speaking in Tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

'' on SBS television. He was a co-host of ''Sunday Night Safran'' on Australian national youth radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

on Sunday nights. His popularity has seen Maguire accumulate more than 120,000 followers on Twitter. 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 Jean Kittson (born 1955) is an Australian performer, writer and comedian in theatre and print, on radio and television. She made her comedy debut at Melbourne's comedy venue Le Joke in a series of solo performances, and then in the stage ver ...

and host

Andrew Hansen Andrew John Hansen (born 18 September 1974) is an Australian comedian, musician and author, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, Hansen's television work includes co-writing and starring in A ...

Community work

Maguire remains active in community work, as the Chairman of The Fr Bob Maguire Foundation. The Foundation operates within the City of Port Phillip and currently distributes more than 2,500 hot meals each month. The Foundation is engaged in the local community as a grass roots organisation. He is currently 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 has ever conducted was that of

Victor Peirce Victor George Peirce (11 November 1958 – 1 May 2002) was an Australian gangster from Melbourne, Victoria. Peirce was a member of the Pettingill family, which was headed by matriarch and former Richmond brothel owner Kath Pettingill. Walsh S ...

Retirement

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. Maguire's life and forced retirement was the subject of the 2013 documentary '' In Bob We Trust'', directed by Lynn-Maree Milburn. The documentary premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 27 July 2013. He continued his work at radio station Triple J until the end of 2015.

Honours and awards

Maguire was named the 2011

Victorian of the Year The Victorian of the Year is an award given to the most outstanding Victorian in any given year. The Victorian of the Year is awarded in Melbourne by the Victoria Day Council as part of Victoria Day celebrations on 1 July annually. The Victoria ...

, He was a finalist for

Senior Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

in 2011 and 2016. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

in 2011.