Archbishop Francis Carroll celebrates 50th anniversary of his ordination

“I am a little surprised to have reached it,” said Archbishop Carroll, who will celebrate his 87^th birthday on Saturday.

As he prepared to mark the milestone, Archbishop Carroll said his thoughts were mostly of gratitude.

“Thanks to God for calling me, the authorities of the Church for selecting me for the opportunities I have had, and to my family and to the many people who have supported me,” he said.

Archbishop Carroll has been retired for 11 years and during his decades of service to the church, was in Wagga for 16 years and in the Canberra-Goulburn Diocese for 23 years.

To mark the 50^th anniversary, there will be a mass, an afternoon tea and a small dinner on Tuesday.

Archbishop Carroll was born in Ganmain on September 9, 1930, the second of seven children in a family with a strong faith and an avid interest in Australian Rules football.

He spent part of his school years in went to school in Ganmain and later Sydney.

He first considered a religious life before he was even a teenager, and at the age of 16 he was accepted by Bishop Francis Henschke as a candidate for the priesthood for the Diocese of Wagga.

Archbishop Carroll returned to Ganmain in 1954 and was ordained into the priesthood at the age 24

He took up appointments in the Wagga diocese and at Griffith and Albury. He served as assistant diocesan inspector of schools from 1958-61.

In 1961 he pursued postgraduate studies at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome.

Archbishop Carroll said being able to attend the Second Vatican Council between 1962 and 1965 had inspired his ambitions to be able to do the work of the Church.

At the conclusion of his studies in 1965, the-then Father Carroll returned to take up an appointment as private secretary to Bishop Henschke and as chancellor of the diocese and diocesan inspector of schools.

His consecration as Titular Bishop and Co-adjutor Bishop of Wagga followed in 1967. In 1968, the-then Father Carroll succeeded Bishop Henschke in Wagga.

He celebrated 50 years of priesthood in September 2004.