The Most Famous

RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Australia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Australian Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 3,187 Religious Figures, 9 of which were born in Australia. This makes Australia the birth place of the 40th most number of Religious Figures behind Argentina, and Slovakia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Australian Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Australian Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Australian Religious Figures.

Photo of Truganini

1. Truganini (1812 - 1876)

With an HPI of 66.60, Truganini is the most famous Australian Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages on wikipedia.

Truganini (c.1812 – 8 May 1876), also known as Lalla Rookh and Lydgugee, was a woman famous for being widely described as the last "full-blooded" Aboriginal Tasmanian to survive British colonisation. Although she was one of the last speakers of the Indigenous Tasmanian languages, Truganini was not the last Aboriginal Tasmanian. She lived through the devastation of invasion and the Black War in which most of her relatives died, avoiding death herself by being assigned as a guide in expeditions organised to capture and forcibly exile all the remaining Indigenous Tasmanians. Truganini was later taken to the Port Phillip District where she engaged in armed resistance against the colonists. She herself was then exiled, first to the Wybalenna Aboriginal Establishment on Flinders Island and then to Oyster Cove in southern Tasmania. Truganini died at Hobart in 1876, her skeleton later being placed on public display at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery until 1948. Her remains were finally cremated and laid to rest in 1976. In being mythologised as "the last of her people", Truganini became the tragic and triumphal symbol of the conquest of British colonists over an "inferior race". In modern times, Truganini's life has become representative of both the dispossession and destruction that was exacted upon Indigenous Australians and also their determination to survive the colonial genocidal policies that were enforced against them.

Photo of Edward Cassidy

2. Edward Cassidy (1924 - 2021)

With an HPI of 57.22, Edward Cassidy is the 2nd most famous Australian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Edward Idris Cassidy AC (5 July 1924 – 10 April 2021) was an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church who was president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 1989 to 2001. He headed the Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with the Jews. He spent most of his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See both in Rome and overseas. He was made a cardinal in 1991.

Photo of George Pell

3. George Pell (1941 - 2023)

With an HPI of 52.36, George Pell is the 3rd most famous Australian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

George Pell (8 June 1941 – 10 January 2023) was an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the inaugural prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers between 2013 and 2018. Ordained a priest in 1966 and bishop in 1987, he was made a cardinal in 2003. Pell served as the eighth Archbishop of Sydney (2001–2014), the seventh Archbishop of Melbourne (1996–2001) and an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne (1987–1996). He was also an author and columnist. From 1996, Pell maintained a high public profile on a wide range of issues, while retaining an adherence to Catholic orthodoxy. Pell worked as a priest in rural Victoria and in Melbourne and also chaired the aid organisation Caritas Australia (part of Caritas Internationalis) from 1988 to 1997. He was appointed a delegate to the Australian Constitutional Convention in 1998, received the Centenary Medal from the Australian government in 2003 and was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours. During his tenure as Archbishop of Melbourne, Pell set up the "Melbourne Response" protocol in 1996 to investigate and deal with complaints of child sexual abuse in the archdiocese. The protocol was the first of its kind in the world and was subjected to a variety of criticisms. In 2018, Pell was convicted of child sexual abuse, but on appeal, the convictions were quashed, and Pell acquitted, in 2020 by the High Court of Australia in the decision Pell v The Queen. A separate investigation by the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith into these allegations of abuse concluded upon his acquittal by the High Court. According to findings released by Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2020, Pell knew of child sexual abuse by clergy by the 1970s but did not take adequate action to address it. Pell said he was "surprised" and that the commission's views "are not supported by evidence".

Photo of James Harrison

4. James Harrison (b. 1936)

With an HPI of 49.59, James Harrison is the 4th most famous Australian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

James Christopher Harrison (born 27 December 1936), also known as the Man with the Golden Arm, is a blood plasma donor from Australia whose plasma contains antibodies against RhD which are used in making a treatment for Rhesus disease. One of the founding donors of New South Wales' (NSW) Rh Program, he regularly donated until, on 11 May 2018, he made his 1,173rd donation – his last, as Australian policy prohibits blood donations from those past age 81.

Photo of Mary MacKillop

5. Mary MacKillop (1842 - 1909)

With an HPI of 44.59, Mary MacKillop is the 5th most famous Australian Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ (in religion Mary of the Cross; 15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian religious sister of Scottish descent. She was born in Melbourne but is best known for her activities in South Australia. Together with Fr Julian Tenison-Woods, she founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephites), a congregation of religious sisters that established a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australia and New Zealand, with an emphasis on education for the rural poor. The process to have MacKillop declared a saint began in the 1920s, and she was beatified in January 1995 by Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008 and in December 2009 approved the Catholic Church's recognition of a second miracle attributed to her intercession. She was canonised on 17 October 2010, during a public ceremony in St Peter's Square at the Vatican. She is the first Australian Catholic saint. Mary MacKillop is the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Photo of Edward Clancy

6. Edward Clancy (1923 - 2014)

With an HPI of 42.62, Edward Clancy is the 6th most famous Australian Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Edward Bede Clancy AC (13 December 1923 – 3 August 2014) was an Australian Catholic bishop and cardinal. He was the seventh Catholic Archbishop of Sydney from 1983 to 2001. He was made Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Vallicella in 1988.

Photo of Norman Thomas Gilroy

7. Norman Thomas Gilroy (1896 - 1977)

With an HPI of 41.18, Norman Thomas Gilroy is the 7th most famous Australian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Sir Norman Thomas Gilroy (22 January 1896 – 21 October 1977) was an Australian bishop. He was the first Australian-born cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

Photo of Peter Hollingworth

8. Peter Hollingworth (b. 1935)

With an HPI of 41.06, Peter Hollingworth is the 8th most famous Australian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Peter John Hollingworth, (born 10 April 1935) is an Australian retired Anglican bishop. Engaged in social work for several decades, he served as the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane in Queensland for 11 years from 1989 and was the 1991 Australian of the Year. He served as the 23rd governor-general of Australia from 2001 until 2003. He is also an author and recipient of various civil and ecclesiastical honours. In May 2003 Hollingworth became the third Australian governor-general to resign, after criticisms were aired over his conduct as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s.

Photo of Mitchell Johnson

9. Mitchell Johnson (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 19.99, Mitchell Johnson is the 9th most famous Australian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Mitchell Guy Johnson (born 2 November 1981) is a former Australian cricketer, who played all forms of the game for his national side. He is a left-arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman. He represented Australia in international cricket from 2005 to 2015. Johnson is considered to be one of the greatest fast bowlers of his era and is referred as the most lethal bowler of all time. With his time representing Australia, Johnson won multiple ICC titles with the team: the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the 2015 Cricket World Cup, the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, and the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. Johnson was awarded the International Cricket Council's Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year) in 2009. After suffering a drop in form that led to his removal from the national side in early 2013, he was particularly successful in his 'comeback' to the Australian Test squad during the 2013–14 Ashes series in Australia, during which he dominated England's batting. He cemented his place in the Australian side in the following Test series against South Africa and was rewarded with his second Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and first ICC Test Player of the Year award in 2014. He played a key role in the semi-final and final matches of the 2015 World Cup, which ultimately culminated in Australia winning the World Cup for the fifth time. Johnson retired from all forms of international cricket in November 2015, having represented Australia in a total of 256 matches. He was the last active Australian player with a Test cap number in the 300s. In terms of time span, Johnson is also the quickest bowler to reach 150 Test wickets, doing so in 2 years and 139 days. In August 2018, Johnson announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Photo of Thijs Nijhuis

10. Thijs Nijhuis (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 0.00, Thijs Nijhuis is the 10th most famous Australian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Thijs Matthias Nijhuis (born 20 September 1992, in the Netherlands) is a Danish long-distance runner. He finished tenth at the 2013 European U23 Championships (10,000 m), fourth at the 2015 Summer Universiade (5000 m), fifteenth at the 2017 Summer Universiade (5000 m) and tenth at the 2017 Summer Universiade (10,000 m). He also competed at the 2015 European Indoor Championships (3000 m) without reaching the final. In 2019, he competed in the senior men's race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark. He finished in 116th place. In 2019, he also competed in the men's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar. He finished in 31st place. In 2020, he competed in the men's race at the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships held in Gdynia, Poland. At the Seville Marathon 2020 he finished in time 2:10:57, qualifying him for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

People

Pantheon has 12 people classified as Australian religious figures born between 1812 and 1999. Of these 12, 6 (50.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Australian religious figures include James Harrison, Peter Hollingworth, and Mitchell Johnson. The most famous deceased Australian religious figures include Truganini, Edward Cassidy, and George Pell. As of April 2024, 3 new Australian religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Thijs Nijhuis, Ethan Ewing, and Brisa Hennessy.

Living Australian Religious Figures

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Deceased Australian Religious Figures

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Newly Added Australian Religious Figures (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.