Not listed in A Prayer-Calendar of Deceased Priests & Deacons in Australia 1788-2009, compiled by W.T. Southerwood, Sixth Edition, 2009.

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Fr David Strong SJ, The Australian dictionary of Jesuit biography 1848-2015, Second Edition, 2017:
Dennett, Francis

Teacher, historian, archivist; born Shipley, Yorkshire, UK, 17 February 1912; died Melbourne, 15 September 1992, aged 80.

Frank Dennett's family came to live in Melbourne in 1920. His father taught music at St Patrick's College, East Melbourne, and it was here that Frank, and his brother Charles, went to school. He joined the Society, 25 February 1928, and studied in Ireland, Italy and then in England, where he was ordained in 1942, having earned a BA in history and economics at the National University of Ireland. His philosophy studies were at Chieri, Italy, a place described by General Ledóchowski as the most austere house in the Society. In later years, Dennett agreed that it was an austere place, but that did not particularly distress him as it upset other Australians.

From 1946-53 he taught English, history, economics and religious knowledge at Riverview, and was also in charge of debating and the choir. His interest in teaching history resulted in the publication of a textbook Europe, A History, which revealed his conviction that the Church's part in history had nothing to fear from a dispassionate examination of the facts.

Dennett taught English and history at St Patrick's College, 1954-65, and was prefect of studies, 1962-65. He edited The Patrician, and his editorials were full of wisdom, wit and grace. He returned to Riverview, 1966-67, and also spent two years at St Ignatius College, Athelstone, 1968-70, essentially looking after his health. After two years at Canisius College, 1971-73, where he mowed the lawns, he was appointed province archivist at the Provincial Residence, 1974.

All during his long life Dennett was eminently a faithful man, at peace with himself and the world around him doing the most humble tasks. Yet, he was also a scholar well versed in Jesuit spirituality, shown in giving the Spiritual Exercises, and in his writings, which were always clear, precise and informative. His memory for detail added richness to the narrative. For example, when writing on the devotion to the Sacred Heart at a time when it was becoming neglected, he was able to capture with a modern freshness of style and expression the essence of the devotion that enkindled a greater awareness among younger Jesuits in their understanding of this traditional Jesuit devotion.

He also wrote 'The Spiritual Exercises in Australia', poems, and historical articles. His eye for historical detail was meticulous, and his knowledge and memory was prodigious.

He enjoyed his work as province archivist, a work that gave scope to his historical scholarship and precision. He was helpful to research scholars. His knowledge of the contents of the archives was prodigious, as was his memory of people and events in his own lifetime. With the assistance of Austin Ryan, he compiled a short biography of every Jesuit who had lived and worked in Australia. His comments on these men were precise and accurate, frequently dispelling oral myths. Thinking about the future, his last major task was to catalogue the archives so that others would be able to easily find material.

It would be difficult to find anyone more regular in his life than Frank Dennett. He worked in the basement rooms of the Provincial Residence seven days a week during three sessions, morning, afternoon and evening, broken only by an irregular outside visit to a bookshop. He died at his desk.

Dennett was a man with a strong sense of the frailty of the human condition and compassion for people. He bore his long illness with enormous courage and patience. He was a quiet, retiring man, whose interests varied from the most serious intellectual subjects to sport. He was close to his family, and corresponded fairly regularly with his siblings, especially his Jesuit brother, Charles. His tasks as a Jesuit, teacher, historian, archivist, cook and administrator were accomplished with a great sense of obligation and responsibility, performing each task as perfectly as possible. In his younger years the scholastics admired the way he sung the Easter ceremonies at Newman College Chapel, a task he performed most exactly with obvious enjoyment. He had a fine singing voice. He was a man who thought very little of himself, but served the Society with great thoroughness.

(Reproduced by permission of Fr David Strong SJ.)