25/11/2025
Rest in peace, dear Mons.
Your warmth, love, generosity and wry sense of humor will be sorely missed.
A special Mass for Mons Frank will be celebrated at the Cathedral this evening.
6pm Tuesday 25th November, Sacred Heart Cathedral Bendigo. All welcome.
The Diocese of Sandhurst is mourning the loss of Monsignor Francis (Frank) Marriott, a "giant of our Diocese," who died peacefully on Sunday, 23 November 2025, after 63 years of priestly ministry and a lifetime of service to the Church and the wider community he loved.
For more than six decades, Monsignor Frank’s influence reached far beyond parish walls. He made an enormous contribution to central Victoria, strengthening local institutions, championing social cohesion, supporting families, engaging in grassroots activism, and offering pastoral care to people from every background and walk of life. His leadership in education, interfaith relations, civic advocacy, social justice and community wellbeing made him a respected and unifying presence across the region.
Raised in Elmore after his early years in Bendigo, he remained deeply connected to local life and, just as passionately, connected to the Collingwood Magpies. After boarding at Assumption College, Kilmore, he entered the seminary in 1956 and was ordained at Sacred Heart Cathedral on 29 June 1962.
Throughout his career, Mons. Marriott served in thirteen parishes and held key leadership roles, including Vicar General, Chancellor, Administrator of Sacred Heart Cathedral and Diocesan Administrator. But his contribution extended far beyond ecclesial titles.
As a young priest, he joined the Young Christian Workers (YCW), calling it “the greatest learning experience of my life”; and attributed its “See, Judge, Act” approach to shaping his lifelong commitment to empowering ordinary people.
He helped establish TEAMS of Our Lady in Sandhurst to support marriages and families and acted as Chaplain to various groups and communities throughout the Diocese.
Innovation and courage marked his ministry. In the 1970s, as Parish Priest of Heathcote, he appointed the Diocese’s first lay school principal and created its first Lay School Board, securing the future of Holy Rosary Primary School. He later co-founded and chaired the Heathcote Citizens Action Committee, which successfully opposed the State Government’s proposal for a toxic liquid-waste dump at Dargile Forest, a defining community victory.
Mons. Marriott was also active in the national arena; serving as Chair of the National Council of Priests 1976-1982, and was an inaugural board member of the St Peter’s Centre for the Renewal of Priests in Canberra.
In 2014, amid heated anti-mosque protests in Bendigo, Mons. Marriott again stepped forward for the common good, co-founding and chairing the Bendigo Interfaith Council to promote understanding and cooperation across diverse faiths. For Monsignor Marriott, it was all about focusing on the commonalities. “Spirituality – a fundamental process of a human having contact with the non-Human, with God,” he once said.
Even after retirement, his commitment never wavered. He ministered in Loddon and Middleton prisons, served on the boards of the Sandhurst Priests’ Retirement Foundation and the Sandhurst Solidarity Fund, and continued to accompany people in need with characteristic humility and humour.
His service was widely recognised. In 2012, he was named a Protonotary Apostolic — one of only six Australians to hold the honour at the time. In 2022, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to the Catholic Church and the community.
Many will remember Mons. Marriott for his sharp mind, his love of history, his deep curiosity and his unmistakable sense of humour. His advice to future priests captured his spirit:
“Have a great love for history – and bring a good sense of humour.”
Monsignor Frank Marriott was, in every sense, a man for all – a steadfast priest, a principled community advocate, and a generous presence in the lives of thousands across central Victoria. He will be profoundly missed. As Fr Brian Boyle, Administrator of the Diocese wrote in a statement yesterday, he was a “Giant” of the Diocese”.
May he rest in peace.
