The family of Father Bob Maguire is to be offered a state funeral to honour the charity campaigner and religious maverick.
Father Bob died at Cabrini Hospital in south-east Melbourne on Wednesday, aged 88.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will speak with Father Bob’s family on Thursday to discuss ways to mark his contribution to the state, including the option of a state funeral.
“I’ll have some more to say about a state funeral and the way in which we can celebrate his rich life, a very generous life, a life of compassion and faith and so much more,” Mr Andrews said.
“It’s a sad day today. He was just a marvellous, marvellous person.”
He said the Victorian government would be led by the family’s wishes.
Mr Andrews remembered Father Bob as a man of faith, integrity and good humour, whose approach sometimes found him at odds with the Catholic Church.
“I very much enjoyed his company and I think, as so many Victorians do, that we are poorer for his passing,” he said.
Father Bob dedicated his life to charitable works and earned a reputation as a candid commentator unafraid to speak his mind or call out church leaders.
The Catholic priest became known for his work with disadvantaged people in his South Melbourne parish, before regularly appearing in national media.
Father Bob balanced his media commitments and parish duties until he was forced to retire from the Catholic Church in 2012 due to his age, and accused Cardinal George Pell of punishing him for being “open to all”.
Father Bob Maguire Foundation board member Frank O’Connor said Father Bob had communicated his dying wishes to his family in the past year, but wasn’t aware if they would accept any offer of a state funeral.
“Bob wasn’t always one that felt authorities like governments or what have you did the best thing by the people he was worried about,” Mr O’Connor said.
“But he’d probably be quite honoured for that sort of thing.”
– AAP
