Knox was born in Bayswater, Western Australia, the second of three sons of Irish-born parents John and Emily (née Walsh) Knox.[3] His father was a storekeeper and native of Kilkenny, and his mother died when Knox was still a child.[4] He worked as a tailor's apprentice[5] before applying to the Archdiocese of Perth to study for the priesthood. However, he was rejected because the archdiocese did not have a seminary at the time and relied on recruiting priests from Ireland.[4] He was instead accepted at the Benedictine abbey in New Norcia, completing his secondary education at St Ildephonsus' College and entering the abbey's seminary in March 1936.
On 13 April 1967, Knox was appointed to succeed Justin Simonds as the fifth Archbishop of Melbourne, despite the fact he had not lived in Australia for 30 years and had no direct pastoral experience.[3] Implementing the decrees of the Second Vatican Council was the driving force of his years in Melbourne. In 1970 he approved the extension of St Patrick's Cathedral's sanctuary to provide the space required for the reformed liturgical rites. The new sanctuary worked admirably for the many ceremonies of the 40th International Eucharistic Congress held in Melbourne in February 1973. Knox reorganised the structure of the archdiocese, establishing four regions headed by auxiliary bishops, the creation of 12 archdiocesan departments headed by episcopal vicars, as well as the establishment of a Senate of Priests and other advisory bodies. During his episcopacy as archbishop, Knox was also instrumental in the creation of the Melbourne College of Divinity and later, some of the constituent parts which became the Australian Catholic University.[3][7]
Knox was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the conclaves of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I and John Paul II, respectively. After playing a major role in the 1980 bishops synod on the modern Christian family,[2] he was appointed the first president of the reconstituted Pontifical Council for the Family on 4 August 1981, replacing the Committee for the Family.[1] His health began to decline the following year, and in May 1983 he suffered a stroke and collapsed during a meeting at the Vatican.[5] He laid in coma for two weeks before his death on 26 June at Gemelli Hospital, aged 69. He was buried on 6 July in the crypt of St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne.[6]
A 1974 portrait of Knox by Melbourne artist Paul Fitzgerald is held by the cathedral.[3]
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