Pat Power was born in Cooma, NSW, in 1942, grew up in Queanbeyan, and was educated at St Christopher's School and St Edmund's College in Canberra and Chevalier College, Bowral. After leaving school, he trained for the priesthood and was ordained in Queanbeyan in 1965. He did a doctorate in canon law in Rome, 1972-75, and returned to Canberra to serve as Archbishop's Secretary (to three archbishops) and director of the marriage tribunal. In 1985, he became parish priest of his home parish of Queanbeyan In 1986, he was ordained bishop by Archbishop Francis Carroll in St Christopher's Cathedral, Canberra. Much of his ministry has been in the field of ecumenical and inter-faith relations, social justice and social welfare. At the 1998 Oceania Synod of Bishops in Rome, he spoke on marginalised people in society and in the church. Much of his efforts have been directed in this area through Catholic Welfare Australia and through local community organisations in Canberra. He has been a strong advocate for the East Timorese and the Palestinian people, for Aboriginal people, for racial respect, for the unemployed, and in opposition to abortion and assisted suicide. In 2000, he chaired a major enquiry into poverty in the Australian Capital Territory. In December 2006 he was inaugurated into the ACT Honour Walk for being a voice for the disadvantaged in the community, and in 2009 was named Canberra Citizen of the Year Bishop Pat Power chose to retire at age 70, effective June 2012.
