John Bathersby

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The Most Reverend

John Bathersby
Roman Catholic bishop
ProfessionCleric
Alma materPius XII Seminary, Banyo
Gregorian University, Rome
Terasianum University
Styles of
John Bathersby
Emeritus Archbishop
Posthumous stylenot applicable

John Alexius Bathersby (26 July 1936 – 9 March 2020) was an Australian

Emeritus Archbishop of Brisbane
.

Early years

Bathersby was born in

Pius XII Provincial Seminary, Banyo, where he began his training for the priesthood and, on completion of those studies (1955–61), he was ordained a priest in his home parish of Stanthorpe by Bishop William Brennan on 30 June 1961.[2]

His first seven years as a priest were spent as an assistant and administrator at

Pontifical Theological Faculty Teresianum. In 1972 he was appointed to the staff of Pius XII Seminary in Brisbane where he served as spiritual director for seven years before returning to Rome for a doctorate in theology and spirituality in 1979. He returned to the seminary before being appointed Bishop of Cairns in 1986.[2]

Bishop of Cairns and Archbishop of Brisbane

On 20 March 1986, Bathersby was consecrated Bishop of Cairns by Archbishop Francis Rush, whom he would succeed in the Archdiocese of Brisbane on 3 December 1991, and installed as the sixth Bishop (and fifth Archbishop) of Brisbane on 30 January 1992.[3]

Bathersby was a member of the International Catholic-Methodist Dialogue from 1989 to 1995 and a member of the executive of the Confederation of Bishops' Conferences of Oceania from 1991 to May 1994. He was co-chairman of the Australian Catholic–

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Commission for Mission and Faith Formation, and was a member of the Bishops' Permanent Committee.[2]

In 2008,

Roman Catholic teachings and practices. However Kennedy's services were extremely popular attracting a very large congregation, many of whom felt otherwise alienated from the Catholic Church. Despite numerous attempts by Bathersby to persuade Kennedy to return to a more standard liturgy, Kennedy refused. Bathersby eventually removed Kennedy as the parish priest. Many of Kennedy's parishioners left the church with him to continue holding services as St Mary's Community in Exile at the Trades and Labour Council building on Peel Street (200m away from St Mary's Catholic Church).[4]

Upon turning 75 years old, in July 2011, Bathersby sought the pontiff's consent to retire.[5] The Bishop of Lismore, Geoffrey Jarrett, was appointed administrator for the Brisbane archdiocese in November 2011[6][7] and, in April 2012, Mark Coleridge was appointed as the seventh archbishop.[8]

Bathersby died on 9 March 2020 at Brisbane's Wesley Hospital from a stroke.[9][10]

In popular culture

In 2011, a feature documentary was made about Kennedy and the exiled community and their conflict with the Catholic Church, entitled The Trouble with St Mary's.[11][12]

In 2016, the play St Mary's in Exile was written by David Burton about the events that led to Bathersby's decision to remove Father

Queensland Theatre Company's Bille Brown Theatre, approximately 250m from both St Mary's and St Mary's in Exile. Actor Josh McWilliam played the role of Bathersby.[13]

References

  1. ^ Hintz, Paddy (19 December 2011). "Retiring Catholic Archbishop John Bathersby farewelled at Brisbane's St Stephen's Cathedral". The Courier Mail. News Corp. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "About Archbishop John Bathersby". Bishops. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Archbishop John Alexius Bathersby". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. 16 October 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  4. ISBN 9781441196422. Archived
    from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. ^ Kidd, Rob (26 July 2011). "Archbishop of Brisbane John Bathersby seeks Pontiff's permission to step down". The Courier-Mail. Australia. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  6. ^ "End of an era". The Catholic Leader. Australia. 20 November 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  7. ^ Elsworth, Sophie (16 November 2011). "Stand-in Catholic Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett ready for the job". The Courier-Mail. Australia. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Press release". Catholic.ord.au. www.catholic.org.au. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  9. The Catholic Leader
    .
  10. brisbanetimes.com.au
    . 9 March 2020.
  11. ^ "The Trouble with St Marys". 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  12. Internet Movie Database. Archived
    from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  13. Queensland Theatre Company. Archived
    from the original on 5 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by 8th Catholic Bishop of Cairns
1986–1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by 6th Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane
1991–2011 		Succeeded by
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