Robert McGuckin (born 28 January 1944 in

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local government ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

) is a retired

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

who was the Bishop of

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia, from July 2012 until his retirement in 2023.

Early life

McGuckin was born in

on 28 January 1944. McGuckin completed his elementary studies at St Pius Primary School, Enmore and his secondary education at De la Salle College,

Ashfield Ashfield may refer to: People * Ashfield (surname) Places Australia * Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney ** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral di ...

, then at the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

Evening College and the Metropolitan Business College. In 1967 he entered St Columba's Seminary, Springwood and, in 1970, he continued his training for the priesthood at

St Patrick's Seminary St Patrick's Seminary, Manly is a heritage register, heritage-listed former clergy house, residence of the Archbishop of Sydney and Roman Catholic Church in Australia, Roman Catholic Church seminary at 151 Darley Road, Manly, New South Wales, ...

, Manly. He later earned a master's degree and a

Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law (; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiate is the title of a person who ...

Saint Paul University Saint Paul University () is a bilingual Catholic university federated with the University of Ottawa since 1965. It is located on Main Street in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, Ontario. Fully bilingual, it offers instruction in both of the countr ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Pastoral ministry

On 20 October 1973, he was ordained a priest for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney The Archdiocese of Sydney () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its episcopal see is Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Erected in 1842, the archdiocese is the metropolis (religious jurisdiction) ...

. After ordination, he served as the Parochial Vicar (1973–1975); an official of the Regional Court of New South Wales (1975–1997); administrator of the parish of

Mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

(1976–1978); administrator of the parish of

Botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

(1978–1981); studies in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (1981–1984); administrator of the parish of Rosebery (1984–1986); as a resident priest in the parish of

Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in New South Wales, Australia, west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Sydney, Greater Sydney. History Before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the area of ...

(1986–1997); and Professor of Canon Law at

Catholic Theological Union Catholic Theological Union (CTU) is a Catholic graduate school of theology in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was formed in Hyde Park as a union of schools from three Catholic religious institutes and has since been sponsored by 23 institu ...

(1989–1996). In 1993, he was incardinated in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta The Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta is a suffragan Latin Church diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1986. The diocese has responsibility for the western suburbs of Sydney and the Blue Mountains, in New South Wales. St ...

where he was appointed as

Judicial Vicar In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official () is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserve certain cases to himself, ...

(1991–1997); diocesan administrator ''sede vacante'' (1997); and Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia (1998–2012). In the Diocese of Parramatta, he was also the Episcopal Vicar for Consecrated Life and for the Pastoral Care of Health Workers. In addition, he served as President of the

Canon Law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

Society of Australia and New Zealand (1999–2006); Professor of Canon Law at

University of Notre Dame Australia The University of Notre Dame Australia (known simply as Notre Dame; ; French language, French for 'Mary, mother of Jesus, Our Lady') is a Private university, private Catholic university with campuses in Perth, Sydney and Broome, Western Austr ...

, Sydney; as Judge of the Court of Appeal for New Zealand and Australia; as the Judicial Vicar of the Court of Appeal for the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific; and as Director of the Institute of Tribunal Practice, affiliated with the Catholic Institute of Sydney. Among other roles, he has worked in pastoral care in numerous parishes, as a professor of canon law and as a judge of the Roman Catholic Appeals Tribunal of Australia and New Zealand. On 14 May 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

named McGuckin, who had been serving as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

and moderator of the curia of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta, as bishop-elect of the Toowoomba diocese following the removal of Bill Morris. His episcopal consecration took place on 11 July 2012. Chief consecrator was Archbishop

Mark Coleridge Mark Benedict Coleridge (born 25 September 1948) is an Australian Catholic prelate who has served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Brisbane since 2012. He previously served as Archbishop of Canberra–Goulburn (2006–2012) and as an auxiliary ...

of Brisbane with Bishop

Anthony Fisher Anthony Colin Fisher (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Since 12 November 2014, he has been the ninth Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He served as the third ...

OP (Bishop of Parramatta) and the apostolic nuncio, Bishop Lazarotto. On 24 May 2023,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed

Kenneth Howell Kenneth Howell (February 21, 1913 - September 28, 1966) was an American actor. He is best remembered for roles in films such as ''Pardon My Pups'' (1934), ''The Wrong Way Out'' (1938), ''Pride of the Bowery'' (1940) and ''Ball of Fire'' (1941), ...

to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba after accepting the resignation of Bishop Robert McGuckin. McGuckin retired to his home state of New South Wales.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGuckin, Robert Roman Catholic bishops of Toowoomba Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta 1944 births Living people Clergy from Sydney