Catholic priest and Youth Off The Streets founder Father Chris Riley dies aged 70

Prominent Catholic priest and founder of Sydney charity Youth Off The Streets, Father Chris Riley, has died aged 70.

In a statement, Youth Off The Streets said he died on Thursday at home following a long period of ill health.

Father Riley established the homeless youth charity operating in NSW and Queensland in 1991 and served as its CEO for nearly three decades. He stepped down from the role in 2022 due to illness.

"He was a tireless advocate for homeless and disadvantaged youth, and he inspired and changed thousands of young lives," chairperson of the charity's board Anne Fitzgerald said.

"Father Riley will be remembered for his compassion, tenacity and unwavering belief that every young person deserves the chance to reach their full potential."

Humble beginnings, lauded career

Born in regional Victoria, Father Riley decided to become a priest after watching Boys' Town, the 1938 movie about a priest's work with underprivileged boys.

After becoming a Salesian priest, he worked with St Vincent de Paul's youth crisis refuge in Sydney's inner west, before going on to establish a youth residential program in 1994. 

The youth program, named Better Homes Farm, was managed by the then newly-minted organisation Youth Off The Streets.

Two years later, the father opened Key College in the inner-city Sydney suburb, Redfern, which became the first Youth Off The Streets school for youth who had disengaged from mainstream education. 

Father Riley went on to open six independent high schools across Sydney, as well as in the Illawarra and the state's central coast. 

Youth Off The Streets now has over 200 staff members and 330 volunteers.

Father Riley told the ABC in 2011 that while he worked with young people across many parts of the country, he did not have a vision of "conquering the world".

"I don't want to have a plan to be in every state in Australia, I don't have a need to go on forever," he said.

In 2006, the Catholic priest was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his service, and in that same year was the recipient of the Human Rights Medal from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. 

He was also named 2012 NSW Australian of the Year. 

In 2011, Father Riley was criticised for his stance on pokies reform after he became the face of the Clubs Australia campaign against the reforms.

Tributes flow

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has remembered Father Riley as having "a heart as big as the country he served".

"He gave hope to young people doing it tough and never gave up on anyone," he said in a statement. 

Reverend Bill Crews, a longtime friend who has also worked extensively with disadvantaged youth in Sydney, said his passing was "terribly sad".

He said Father Riley had left an enormous legacy.

"There'll be children and grandchildren who would have never been on this earth but for Father Chris Riley interfering in the lives of their fathers or their grandfathers," Rev Crews said.

"What greater gift can you give to the world than that?

"We were both kind of outliers. Every now and then the Uniting Church would get annoyed with me, and the Catholic Church would get annoyed with him, so we share the annoyance with each other."

NSW Premier Chris Minns paid tribute to Father Riley in a statement.

"It is with profound sadness that I acknowledge the passing of Father Chris Riley AM, whose visionary work changed the lives of tens of thousands of young people across New South Wales," he said.

"Father Riley believed there is no child born bad, only circumstances to overcome, and he spent over three decades proving that with compassion and opportunity young lives can be transformed."