Year in Review 2025 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst 47 18 January 1938 ~ 23 November 2025 Monsignor Francis Kelly Marriott was born in Bendigo on 18 January 1938 to Frank and Rita (née Kelly). His father, a baker and pastry cook from Shepparton, and his mother, from a farming family near Narrandera, NSW, raised Frank alongside his sister, Ruth. He was a devoted brother, brother-in-law to Richard, and a much-loved uncle to John, Paul, Tracey, Wayne and their families. Educated at St Mary’s College, Bendigo, Marist Brothers’ College, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Elmore, and Assumption College, Kilmore, Frank entered the seminary in 1956 at St Francis Xavier, Adelaide and was ordained a priest of Sandhurst by Bishop Stewart at Sacred Heart Cathedral on 29 June 1962 – a cold, wet day in the same church where he had been baptised. For 63 years, Monsignor Frank served the Diocese of Sandhurst with distinction. His ministry included appointments to Cobram, Rushworth, Beechworth, Shepparton, Heathcote, Nagambie, Kennington and Wodonga. Elevated to Domestic Prelate in 2000, he was appointed Parish Priest of Wodonga in 2003, before returning to Bendigo in 2008 as Administrator of Sacred Heart Cathedral. Following the death of Bishop Joe Grech, he served as Diocesan Administrator until the appointment of Bishop Les Tomlinson in 2012. That year, Pope Benedict XVI conferred on him the rare honour of Protonotary Apostolic. He also served as Vicar General, Chancellor, Director of the Sandhurst Youth Ministry Team, as a long-standing member of the College of Consultors. He retired as Cathedral Administrator in 2015. His service extended well beyond parish life. Monsignor Frank chaired the National Council of Priests (1976–1982), was an inaugural board member of St Peter’s Centre for the Renewal of Priests, and helped establish the Priests’ Retirement Foundation. Deeply committed to youth, he served as chaplain to the Young Christian Workers, an experience he described as “the greatest learning experience of my life”, and introduced Teams of Our Lady to the Diocese, remaining chaplain until his death. A pioneer in Catholic education, he appointed the Diocese’s first lay school principal and established its first Lay School Board at Holy Rosary Primary School, Heathcote. He was a founding board member of the Victorian Catholic Schools Association and served on industrial conciliation and arbitration boards. Civically, he co-founded a Citizens Action Committee that successfully opposed a proposed toxic waste site near Heathcote, and in 2014 co-founded and chaired the Bendigo Interfaith Council. At the diocesan level, he chaired the Finance Council, helped establish the Aspire Foundation, and served on numerous boards, including the Roman Catholic Trust Corporation, the Professional Standards Committee and the Diocesan Development Fund. In retirement, Monsignor Frank continued prison ministry in Loddon and Middleton, served on the boards of the Sandhurst Priests’ Retirement Foundation and Sandhurst Solidarity Fund, and accompanied people in need with humility and humour. His lifetime of service was recognised in 2022 with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). For more than six decades, Monsignor Frank Marriott strengthened parishes and institutions, championed education, social cohesion and interfaith dialogue, and offered generous pastoral care to people of every background. Remembered for his sharp mind, love of history, deep curiosity, distinctive humour, and his unwavering support for the Collingwood Football Club, he was, in every sense, a man for all: a steadfast priest, principled advocate and unifying presence. He gave his life in faithful service to Christ and his Church, and he will be deeply missed. In Memoriam Monsignor Frank Marriott For more than six decades, Monsignor Frank Marriott strengthened parishes and institutions, championed education, social cohesion and interfaith dialogue, and offered generous pastoral care to people of every background
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