Father Bob Maguire has been remembered as a "rebel" and a "raconteur" at a state funeral for the Roman Catholic priest who died last month.
The 88-year-old, who was a popular media personality through his radio and television appearances with John Safran, was known universally as Father Bob.
He was parish priest of Sts Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in South Melbourne for close to 40 years from 1973 — leaving only after a clash with Catholic Church hierarchy over its mandate that priests retire at 75.
He eventually reached a compromise that allowed him to remain a priest until he was 77, retiring in 2012 after 50 years of service to the church.
Father Bob was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 for his service to homeless youth and was named Victorian of the Year in 2011.
He established a charity foundation which delivers hundreds of free meals each week and operates an outreach program to those in need.
The state funeral for Father Bob is being held at St Patrick's Cathedral in East Melbourne and is being delivered by the Very Reverend Werner Utri.
A livestream of the service is being shared on the ABC News YouTube channel and can be viewed on the state government's website.
Premier Daniel Andrews offered a tribute on behalf of the people of Victoria, saying Father Bob worked tirelessly to build a sense of community among his congregation.
"Father Bob understood intrinsically that you had to go to where the people are and where the need is greatest," Mr Andrews said.
"His were the unloved and the unlovely, as he put it, those without a voice and without a home.
"Anyone who turned up on his doorstep got whatever they needed in that moment. Bob always knew exactly what people needed even when they might not have known themselves."
Father Bob's capacity for love and empathy 'knew no bounds', family says
John Safran, with whom Father Bob shared airtime on radio and television, said the priest's life was marked by humour and humility.
"Bob was like a reverse Native American. He thought his soul would be taken away if a camera wasn't pointed at him," he said.
"But it wasn't because he was vain, it was because he felt such joy and he knew it provided others with such joy, grappling with the important questions of life in his irreverent way.
"I never thought Bob would stop making me laugh but with the sad news of his passing he finally has."
Father Bob's niece Peta Knights said Father Bob overcame a childhood marked by grief to become a treasured family leader.
"Family life was hard for the Maguires. It was a life dominated by Bob's alcoholic father with all the consequent deprivations above and over those of the era," she said.
"Tragically, Bob lost both his parents and his beloved sister Kathleen by the age of 15. I can't imagine the pain those losses caused a young boy but perhaps they made him into the man he became. The one that we all loved.
"Bob was very generous with his time despite the fact he was such a busy man. Over the years he performed 16 family weddings, countless baptisms and four funerals.
"His capacity for love and his empathy in times of trouble knew no bounds and we were extremely grateful for that."
Frank O’Connor from the Father Bob Maguire Foundation said the charities set up by father Bob have helped countless people over decades.
"The parish became a place and a community, not just for the believers, but for anyone in need and anyone who wanted to help," he said.
"Thanks to Father Bob’s inspiration, his foundation continues to provide a significant pantry and meal service and other programs in the local area as well as supporting other organisations doing similar things.
"This celebration is what he deserves after 63 years as a priest, preacher, raconteur, rebel, but mostly as a doer and an inspiration to so many people."
