Father Bob Maguire is a man of passion, creativity and humour; he is part Billy Connolly, part angry Old Testament prophet and part compassionate Mother Theresa (he would hate this categorisation). But he has a unique combination of traits and in each he is a risk taker.
He is an elusive chameleon, a man of brilliant riddles.
His life story has not been told – or rather, he has told it in random pieces, for people to put together like a jigsaw puzzle. Sue Williams is the first person to attempt to capture his whole story.
For 39 years, Father Bob was parish priest of Sts Peter and Paul church in South Melbourne, until his boss forced him to retire. From this base, and through his foundation, he worked, hands on, with the homeless, sick, criminal and addicted. He has had successes and failures. In his own words, Father Bob sees his work as a 'life-long attempt to empower teens, twenty-somethings and even children to be their unique selves … unique contributors in recreating the world and the cosmos'. He believes that the Father Bob Maguire Foundation needs to be 'urgent, sensitive to young people's fragile dreams and flexible in responding to young people of every class and creed'.
At 78, Father Bob shows no signs of slowing down, giving in, or shutting up.
