Most Rev John A Bathersby DD
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Born 26/07/1936.
Ordained 30/06/1961.
Archdiocese of Brisbane.
Archbishop Bathersby served as the Bishop of Cairns for five years before taking on his role as Brisbane archbishop for 20 years.
He was remembered for his emphasis on prayer, the Eucharist and the centrality of Jesus as well as a commitment to ecumenism and the laity.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said in Archbishop Bathersby's 20 years as archbishop, he was no high-powered administrator or fiery preacher'. What he brought to the office was something deeper and more enduring,' he said. John was consumed by the desire to know and love Jesus, and he spoke of this more and more as time went by. This is his greatest legacy to the archdiocese. It led to a focus on deepening prayer, not only in his own life but in the life of the archdiocese. The mystic shone through in the little Aussie battler; and the effect of that is hard to measure but impossible to deny. From this there flowed his passion for Christian unity: he understood that the Jesus whom he had met knocked down the walls that divide. His deep sense of communion extended not only to other Churches but to the community as a whole.'
Archbishop Bathersby was born in Stanthorpe in 1936 to John Thomas, a shopkeeper and publican at the Country Club Hotel, and Grace Maud Bathersby.
He entered Pius XII Seminary, Banyo, after his schooling and was ordained in Stanthorpe parish by Bishop William Brennan on June 30, 1961.
His first seven years as a priest were spent in Goondiwindi before he was sent to Rome for further studies in 1969, where he completed a licentiate in Theology and a Diploma in Spirituality.
Returning to Brisbane, he worked as a spiritual director at Pius XII Seminary for seven years before, again, he was sent to Rome; this time to complete a Doctorate in Theology/Spirituality.
He was appointed Bishop of Cairns in 1986 and then became Archbishop of Brisbane on January 30, 1992.
When Archbishop Bathersby retired in 2011, at the age of 75, he said it had been a privilege' and a lasting joy' to have been archbishop.
He is survived by his three sisters; Carmel Mahoney, Sue Nolan and Anne Johnson; his brother Michael Bathersby, and numerous nephews and nieces.
May he rest in peace.