Frank Little (bishop)

Sir Thomas Francis Little
Melbourne
Diocese Melbourne
Enthroned 1 July 1974
Reign ended 16 July 1996
Predecessor James Knox
Successor George Pell
Orders
Ordination 3 October 1950
Consecration 21 February 1973
Personal details
Born 30 November 1925
Melbourne
Died 7 April 2008
Melbourne
Nationality Australian
Denomination Roman Catholic

Sir Thomas Francis "Frank" Little, KBE (30 November 1925 — 7 April 2008[1]) was the sixth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, appointed by Pope Paul VI on 1 July 1974. He retired in 1996 and was succeeded by George Pell. After retirement he was styled Archbishop Emeritus in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.[2]

Contents

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.

Education

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.

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 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.

Little again returned to Melbourne, as assistant priest to St Patrick's Cathedral, in 1959. He later became the dean of the cathedral in 1965 and then 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

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 both a parish priest and a regional bishop with pastoral responsibility for the north-western region of Melbourne. In 1974 he succeeded Cardinal Knox as Archbishop of Melbourne.

Honours

In the 1977 Silver Jubilee honours he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).[3]

On 10 April 1992 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in theology by the Melbourne College of Divinity, particularly for his work for ecumenism and theological education in the archdiocese.

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:

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

He died in April 2008 and was buried in the crypt of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne.

Notes

  1. ^ Brolly 2008 and Zwartz 2008 both say Little died on 7 April. Note that a death notice placed in The Age newspaper by "the Bishops, Priests and people of the Archdiocese of Melbourne" claimed that Little "died peacefully at home on the [morning of] 8 April 2008" (The Age, 10 April 2008, page 13).
  2. ^ Archbishop Thomas Francis Little [Catholic-Hierarchy]
  3. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47234. p. 7104. 10 June 1977. Retrieved 2008-04-08.

References

External links

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