Where are they now – Fr John Monaghan (SPC1967-72)

The College reconnects with former boarder Fr John Monaghan (SPC 1967-72) who is still known by the nickname given to him by his SPC classmates all those years ago.

Fr John Monaghan.

“Coming to St Patrick’s College as an 11-year-old boarder was an immense change from growing up on a farm near Stawell and attending a small country school. In my first year, Form One 1967, fellow students gave me the nickname -Sharpy- which has stayed with me ever since thanks to the – Old Boys at the seminary and in each parish I’ve served.

Among great memories I have of SPC are meeting students from many places especially those who’ve become lifelong friends. After brief stints at university and on the family farm, I studied at Corpus Christi College, Clayton and was ordained for the Ballarat diocese in 1981. Since then I’ve lived in Terang, Hamilton, Mildura and throughout the Mallee.

From January 2016 I’ve been enjoying life as parish priest of the Maryborough parish. Most years I holiday in Spain, walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, and Fr John is pictured here on the summit of Ben Nevis in Scotland.

My message to current students is: appreciate those we share our lives with and enjoy each day.”