Personal Details
Bishop Murphy was born in 1961 in Benalla, Victoria. Bishop Murphy attended primary school there at St. Joseph’s with the FCJ Sisters after which he finished his secondary schooling at Assumption College Kilmore, with the Marist Brothers in1978.
After completing a degree in Agriculture, he worked as a field agronomist before responding to the call to study for the priesthood in 1985.
Priesthood
In 1985 he entered Propaganda Fide College Rome where he gained an STB in Philosophy from the Angelicum and a Licentiate from the Urban University. Once his studies were completed, he was ordained on 11th July 1992at St. Michael’s Cathedral, Wagga Wagga. From 2000-2002 he studied for a doctorate in moral theology in Rome and served at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Over the next 32 years he held the following positions:
Parish Priest
Vicar Forane of the Murray Deanery
Chair of the Presbyteral Council
Vicar General
Member of Diocesan Council of Priests, College ofConsultors and Personnel Board
Diocesan Director for Vocations and Youth
University Chaplain
Vice Rector of Vianney College, Wagga Wagga
Lecturer in philosophy and moral theology at Vianney College, Wagga Wagga
Lecturer at the Pontifical “John Paul II” Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Science in Melbourne.
Bishop
Bishop Murphy was appointed as the 11th Bishop of Armidale by Pope Francis in an announcement made on 26th February, 2025. He was ordained and installed as Bishop of Armidale on 8th May, 2025 at Saints Mary & Joseph’s Cathedral Armidale.
Since his appointment as Bishop of Armidale Bishop Murphy has been appointed to the Australian Bishops’ Commission for Doctrine and Morals.
