Monsignor Francis Kelly “Frank” Marriott OAM
18 January 1938 – 24 November 2025
The Diocese mourns death of a “giant of the Diocese”.
Monsignor Francis “Frank” Marriott OAM, beloved Bendigo-born Catholic priest and community leader, died peacefully on Sunday, 24 November 2025, after 63 years of priestly ministry and a lifetime of service to the Church and the wider community he loved.
For more than six decades, Monsignor Frank’s influence reached far beyond parish walls. He made an enormous contribution to central Victoria, strengthening local institutions, championing social cohesion, supporting families, engaging in grassroots activism, and offering pastoral care to people from every background and walk of life. His leadership in education, interfaith relations, civic advocacy, social justice and community wellbeing made him a respected and unifying presence across the region.
Raised in Elmore after his early years in Bendigo, he remained deeply connected to local life and, just as passionately, connected to the Collingwood Magpies. After boarding at Assumption College, Kilmore, he entered the seminary in 1956 and was ordained a priest of Sandhurst at Sacred Heart Cathedral on 29 June 1962.
Monsignor Frank served in thirteen parishes of the Diocese. As a newly ordained priest, he served across the parishes of Kerang, Cobram, Rushworth, Beechworth, Shepparton, Nagambie, Heathcote, Mooroopna and Sacred Heart Cathedral. He was subsequently Parish Priest of Heathcote, Nagambie, Kennington and Wodonga. In 2008, he was appointed Administrator of the Cathedral Parish, and continued to serve in this role until his retirement in 2015.
Following the sudden death of Bishop Joe Grech in December 2010, Monsignor Frank was elected Diocesan Administrator, a role he undertook with great care until the appointment of Bishop Les Tomlinson in 2012.
In 2012, Bishop Les Tomlinson appointed him as Vicar General if the Diocese. Mons. Frank also held important diocesan positions including Chancellor, Director of the Sandhurst Youth Ministry Team and a member of the College of Consultors for many years.
Monsignor Frank’s commitment to both the local and Catholic communities was immense. As a young priest, he joined the Young Christian Workers (YCW), calling it “the greatest learning experience of my life”; and attributed its “See, Judge, Act” approach to shaping his lifelong commitment to empowering ordinary people.
He helped establish TEAMS of Our Lady in Sandhurst to support marriages and families and acted as Chaplain to various groups and communities throughout the Diocese.
Innovation and courage marked his ministry. In the 1970s, as Parish Priest of Heathcote, he appointed the Diocese’s first lay school principal and created its first Lay School Board, securing the future of Holy Rosary Primary School. He later co-founded and chaired the Heathcote Citizens Action Committee, which successfully opposed the State Government’s proposal for a toxic liquid-waste dump at Dargile Forest, a defining community victory.
Mons. Marriott was also active in the national arena, serving as Chair of the National Council of Priests 1976-1982, and was an inaugural board member of the St Peter’s Centre for the Renewal of Priests in Canberra.
In 2014, amid heated anti-mosque protests in Bendigo, Mons. Marriott again stepped forward for the common good, co-founding and chairing the Bendigo Interfaith Council to promote understanding and cooperation across diverse faiths. For Monsignor Marriott, it was all about focusing on the commonalities. “Spirituality – a fundamental process of a human having contact with the non-Human, with God,” he once said.
Even after retirement, his commitment never wavered. He ministered in Loddon and Middleton prisons, served on the boards of the Sandhurst Priests’ Retirement Foundation and the Sandhurst Solidarity Fund, and continued to accompany people in need with characteristic humility and humour.
His service was widely recognised. In 2012, he was named a Protonotary Apostolic — one of only six Australians to hold the honour at the time. In 2022, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to the Catholic Church and the community.
Many will remember Mons. Marriott for his sharp mind, his love of history, his deep curiosity and his unmistakable sense of humour. His advice to future priests captured his spirit:
“Have a great love for history – and bring a good sense of humour.”
Monsignor Frank Marriott was, in every sense, a man for all – a steadfast priest, a principled community advocate, and a generous presence in the lives of thousands across central Victoria. He will be profoundly missed.
As Fr Brian Boyle, Administrator of the Diocese, wrote in a statement yesterday:
“He was a proud and vocal supporter of the Collingwood football club, and an enthusiastic participant in social activities with his brother priests. Monsignor Frank gave his whole life in faithful service to Christ and his church. We pray that he is currently being welcomed into the arms of the Father with the words “Well done, good and faithful servant”. A giant of our Diocese has passed Diocese”.
May he rest in peace.