Joe Caddy

Joe Caddy AM (born 14 January 1960) is an Australian bishop. He is currently the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns. He was previously vicar general of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.^[2]

The Most Reverend Joe Caddy
Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns
Church	Catholic Church
Diocese	Cairns
Appointed	6 June 2024
Installed	15 August 2024
Predecessor	James Foley
Orders
Ordination	25 August 1990
Consecration	15 August 2024 by Mark Coleridge
Personal details
Born	Joseph John Caddy (1960-01-14) 14 January 1960 (age 65) Melbourne, Australia[1]
Nationality	Australian
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Alma mater	Melbourne University of Divinity Pontifical Gregorian University[2]
Motto	Latin: Esurientes Implevit Bonis, lit. '(He fills the hungry with good things)'
Coat of arms

Styles of Joe Caddy
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	My Lord
Religious style	Bishop

Early life

Joseph John Caddy was born on 14 January 1960 in Melbourne, the first of six children to John and Patricia (née McMahon) and raised in Ivanhoe East. He attended St Stephen's Primary School in Reservoir East and then Cathedral College, East Melbourne and Parade College, Bundoora for his secondary schooling under the guidance of the Christian Brothers.^[2]

After graduating, he enrolled to study commerce at the University of Melbourne before entering Corpus Christi College Seminary at Clayton, Melbourne in 1984.^[3]

Priesthood

Caddy was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Melbourne on 25 August 1990 at St Patrick’s Cathedral Melbourne, Victoria].^[1] After serving as an assistant priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Maidstone, he went to Rome in 1993 to study for a Baccalaureate and later a Liceniate in Social Sciences at the Pontifical Gregorian University.^[2]

He returned to Melbourne and served as a prison chaplain. He was administrator of CatholicCare Victoria from 2004 to 2017. He served as parish priest of All Saints, Fitzroy from 2014 to 2016, before being appointed to St Mary's, Saint Kilda East from 2016 to 2019. He was appointed Episcopal Vicar for Social Services in 2016 and Vicar General in 2019, while also serving as parish priest of Saint Carthage's, Parkville from 2021.^[4]

Caddy was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours.^[5]

Episcopacy

On 6 June 2024, Pope Francis announced Caddy had been appointed Bishop of Cairns.^[4] The seat had been vacant since 2022 following the resignation of Bishop James Foley, after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, in 2019.^[6]

Caddy was ordained and installed as the eighth Bishop of Cairns at St Monica's War Memorial Cathedral on 15 August 2024, by Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge.^[7]