Timothy James Harris (born 29 October 1962) is an Australian
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. He is the
Bishop of Townsville in
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 ...
.
Early life
Harris was born in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
on 29 October 1962 to Shirley and Jim Harris. He has a sister named Jennifer. He was educated at Nundah Convent,
Virginia State School
Virginia State School is a heritage-listed state school at 1690 Sandgate Road, Virginia, Queensland, Virginia, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Queensland Department of Public Works and built from 1920 to 1933. It was ...
and
St Joseph's Nudgee College
St Joseph's Nudgee College (commonly referred to as Nudgee College or simply Nudgee) is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in Boondall
Boondall ( ) is a northern suburb in the City of Bri ...
before working for five years as a public relations agent for the
Bank of New South Wales
The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania ...
.
[
]
Religious life
He attained a Bachelor of Theology in 1991; and was subsequently ordained a deacon of the Archdiocese of Brisbane on 5 June 1992, receiving priestly ordination at the age of thirty on 18 November 1992.
Over the almost twenty-five years of his priesthood, he was first an Assistant Pastor in Grovely parish, and then in Caboolture
Caboolture () is a town and suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the northern side of the Caboolture River. In the , the suburb of Caboolture had a population of 29,534 people.
Geography
Caboolture is ...
parish; before being appointed parish priest of Corinda
Corinda is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Corinda had a population of 5,555 people.
History
The suburb takes its name from the Corinda railway station, which in turn was likely named after a local cattle sta ...
- Graceville in 1996, a position in which he served until he was transferred to Surfers Paradise
Surfing is a list of surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in Glossary of surfing, tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wind wave, wave of water, whic ...
in 2010.
He was appointed as the sixth Bishop of Townsville by 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 ...
on 8 February 2017, following the vacancy since 28 March 2014 when Bishop Michael Putney died in office.New Bishop Archives – ACBC Media Blog
. Mediablog.catholic.org.au (8 February 2017). Retrieved on 2017-04-17. His episcopal consecration took place on 3 May 2017.
Personal life
His hobbies include Irish music (especially ballads), the beach (having lived at Surfers Paradise for seven years), and sports of all kinds.
[Pope Francis appoints Fr Timothy Harris, sixth Bishop of Townsville – Archdiocese of Brisbane]
. Brisbanecatholic.org.au. Retrieved on 17 April 2017.
References
Living people
Roman Catholic bishops of Townsville
21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia
1962 births
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