Archbishop Frank Rush
Title:
Archbishop
First Name:
Francis
Middle Names:
Roberts
Preferred Name:
Frank
Surname:
Rush
Order:
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Townsville QLD
Country of Birth:
Australia
Date of Ordination:
Place of Ordination:
Rome
Country of Ordination:
Italy
Ordination Diocese:
Townsville
Seminary:
St Patrick's College, Manly, Australia
Date of Death:
Place of Death:
Brisbane QLD
Country of Death:
Australia
Date of Burial:
Place of Burial:
St Stephen's Cathedral, Brisbane QLD
Country of Burial:
Australia
Find A Grave URL:
Appointments Table
Diocese | Place | Role | Start Day | Start Month | Start Year | End Day | End Month | End Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockhampton | Rockhampton | Bishop | 1961 | 1973 | Gravestone | ||||
| Brisbane | Brisbane | Archbishop | 5 | Mar | 1973 | 3 | Dec | 1991 | Gravestone |
Episcopal Ordinations Table
Diocese | Day | Month | Year | Place | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockhampton | 8 | Feb | 1961 |
Biographical Notes
Tribute to Archbishop Francis Rush 1916-2001, Catholic Leader, 29 July 2001, p 1:
Retired Archbishop of Brisbane, Francis Rush, died last Saturday, aged 84, after a long illness.
Archbishop Rush led the archdiocese from March 5, 1973 until his retirement on December 3, 1991.
He was the first Australian and the first Queenslander to be appointed Archbishop of Brisbane, following a long line of Irish-born bishops and archbishops.
Archbishop Rush had been a priest for 62 years, and lived in retirement for the past 10 years at the Cannosian Sisters' retirement complex at Oxley.
He died at the Mater Private Hospital, South Brisbane.
Archbishop Rush was ordained for Townsville diocese in Rome in 1939 and served in the cathedral and other parishes until his appointment as Bishop of Rockhampton in 1961.
He was one of 3000 bishops from throughout the world to attend the Second Vatican Council from 1962-65, and was president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference from 1983-86.
In Brisbane he set up the archdiocesan pastoral council in 1974 to increase lay participation in the church, created the position of vicar for social welfare and set up the archdiocesan welfare commission.
Archbishop Rush was a committed ecumenist and in 1984 he celebrated a service of reconciliation in Saint John's Anglican Cathedral with Anglican Archbishop John Grindrod. In 1991 he led the Catholic Church into full membership of Queensland Churches Together.
He also initiated the renovation of Saint Stephen's Cathedral and the redesign of its surrounds.
Archbishop Rush's funeral was held at Saint Stephen's Cathedral on Friday.
His body lay in state in the adjacent Saint Stephen's Chapel from last Monday to Thursday. There was also a vigil mass on Thursday night.