Frank Little (priest)

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Sir Thomas Francis "Frank" Little, KBE, OM (Republic of Poland), DD, Doctor of Sacred Theology (b. 30 November 1925, Melbourne, Victoria) was the sixth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, appointed by Pope Paul VI on 1 July 1974. He continued until 1996, when he retired and was replaced by George Pell. He is currently Archbishop Emeritus in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

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[edit] Early life

Little's father, Gerald Thompson Little, was a surveyor and engineer and his mother was the former Kathleen Annie McCormack. Both were from metropolitan Melbourne.

[edit] Education

Frank Little was educated at St Columba's School, Essendon, then at St. Monica's Christian Brothers College, Moonee Ponds. He completed his secondary education as a boarder at St Patrick's College, Ballarat.

[edit] Early Priesthood

Little commenced training for the priesthood in 1943. In that year he entered Corpus Christi College, a seminary at Werribee. Little went to Rome to study at the Propaganda Fide College in 1947. He was ordained in the chapel of the College on 3 October 1950, by Cardinal Biondi. For the next three years he studied for a doctorate at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. He was awarded a doctorate in 1953.

In 1953 Fr. Little returned to Melbourne. He was appointed assistant priest to Carlton, then appointed assistant at St Patrick's Cathedral in 1955. From 1956 until 1959, he worked as Secretary to the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Carboni, in Sydney.

Fr. Little again returned to Melbourne as assistant priest to St Patrick's Cathedral in 1959, was Dean of the Cathedral in 1965 and Parish Priest of St Ambrose's, Brunswick in 1971.

During those years he was involved in pastoral work with the large number of migrants finding a new home in Australia, especially within the Italian community. He was also

  • a lecturer in the Provincial seminary
  • a member of the Diocesan Ecumenical Affairs Commission
  • a member and Chair of Victorian Action for World Development
  • a member of the organising committee for the Melbourne Eucharistic Congress and
  • Episcopal Vicar for the Apostolate of the laity.

[edit] Bishop

He was ordained as a Bishop on 21 February 1973 by Cardinal James Knox during the International Eucharistic Congress then being held in Melbourne. In 1973 he was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne and Titular Bishop of Temuniana.

He lived in Moonee Ponds as Parish Priest, and worked as a regional Bishop, so was given pastoral responsibility for the north-western region of Melbourne. In 1974 he succeeded Cardinal Knox as Archbishop of Melbourne.

[edit] Honours

In 1977 he was created a Knight Commander of the British Empire.

On the 10 April 1992 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Theology by the Melbourne College of Divinity, particularly for his work for ecumenism and theological education in the Archdiocese.

[edit] Activities

In 1983 he attended the Synod of Bishops in Rome. The Synod's theme that year was "Reconciliation".

During his time as Archbishop of Melbourne his support of the education and renewal for the Catholic community expressed itself in such initiatives as:

  • the publication of the Religious Education Guidelines
  • the launch of the RENEW programme
  • the establishment of Deaneries and
  • the "Tomorrow's Church" process

He was committed to the continuing formation of lay people and priests. Archbishop Little is well known in Melbourne for his support for Essendon Football Club. In July 1996, his resignation from the Office for reasons of health, was accepted by the Pope.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
James Knox		 Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne
1974-1996		 Succeeded by
George Pell

[[Category:Australian Roman Catholic priests]

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