Bishop Elliott celebrates 50-year milestone

Bishop Peter Elliott, a long-time supporter of Endeavour Forum, recently celebrated his golden jubilee as an ordained priest.

His Lordship's family and friends attended a special Pontifical Mass at St Kevin's Church, Ormond, on Sunday, February 19, to mark the 50-year milestone, after which they gathered for a special celebration in his honour.

During his long and distinguished career, Bishop Elliott has played prominent roles, both in Australia and overseas, as priest, bishop, scholar, educator, diplomat, author and speaker.

He was born in Melbourne in 1943, the son of an Anglican vicar, the Rev. Leslie Llewelyn Elliott, and his wife Irene Ann. He was educated at the Melbourne Church of England Boys Grammar School and then at the University of Melbourne, where he gained a Master of Arts in History.

After that, he headed overseas to study at Oxford, where one of his contemporaries was the late George Pell, a future cardinal. During his time there, Peter Elliott converted to Catholicism and completed a Master of Arts in theology.

On his return to Melbourne in 1969, he studied for the priesthood and in 1973 was ordained a priest. In the 1980s he gained a Doctorate in Sacred Theology in Rome. He was appointed as a Vatican official of the Pontifical Council for the Family and as a Vatican envoy to a number of United Nations conferences concerned with global population issues and the status of women.

In late 1997 he returned to Australia and was appointed episcopal vicar for religious education in the archdiocese of Melbourne. In December 2004 he was appointed director of Melbourne's John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family. From 2007 until his retirement in 2018, he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne.

Throughout his career, Bishop Elliott has been an unswerving defender of the rights of the unborn and an advocate for the culture of life. He is widely known and loved, both within and outside the Catholic Church, for his wisdom and delightful sense of humour.

Endeavour Forum supporters warmly congratulate Bishop Elliott on attaining his golden jubilee.