Having spent most of his life as an atheist, former governor-general and Labor stalwart Bill Hayden says he has found God again at age 85.
Mr Hayden — a former opposition leader, republican and humanist — was baptised at St Mary's Church in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, earlier this month.
The Queenslander was often cited as one of Australia's most prominent atheists but had a change of heart several months ago, said Father Peter Dillon, the Catholic priest who baptised him.
"I think Bill's been spending a lot of time in the service of people in government and in the general community, and he took a while to discover there's a context for all of that," he said.
"I think he's been living a very Christian life. He's got a name for what he's been doing all along."
Mr Hayden told the Catholic Leader that the pivotal moment to revive his religious beliefs came during a hospital visit to see Sister Angela Mary Doyle, a prominent Brisbane nun whom he had admired for years.
"The next morning I woke with the strong sense that I had been in the presence of a holy woman, so after dwelling on those things I found my way back to the core of those beliefs — the church," Mr Hayden said.
Father Dillon said despite being wheelchair-bound and suffering health setbacks including a stroke and a recently broken shoulder, Mr Hayden wanted to do volunteer work with St Vincent de Paul.
"This is a man who is totally dedicated to the service of the community and now he's doing that from a platform of the Christian faith," Father Dillon said.
"Most of us learn about God from somebody whom we admire and respect and I think that's going to be the case for a lot of people when it comes to Bill Hayden."
