Nathan Webb (priest)
Nathan Patrick Webb (born 17 November 1997) is a Roman Catholic priest currently serving in the Diocese of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He gained national media attention in 2022 upon his ordination at the age of 24, making him Australia's youngest Catholic priest.
Early life and family
Webb was born in Toowoomba, a city in Queensland, Australia. He is the fourth of twelve children, born to Paul Webb, a hydrographer, and Fiona Webb (née Cusack). His family had recently relocated to Toowoomba from Ayr, in North Queensland. He is of Irish and English descent. He was baptized at Sacred Heart Parish, Wilsonton and was home-schooled. Webb's older sister Nancy Webb (Sr Rose Patrick O'Connor), a former journalist with ABC news, entered the Sisters of Life in 2018, and his younger brother Isaac Webb is a member of the Capuchin Franciscans.
Ordination and priesthood
Webb entered the Holy Spirit Seminary in Brisbane at age 18. He was ordained to the transitional diaconate on 13 November 2021. His ordination was a significant local event, as he was the first deacon ordained at the St Patrick's Cathedral, Toowoomba in over 20 years, since 1998. Webb was ordained to the presbyterate on 25 June 2022, at the age of 24, by Bishop Robert McGuckin. He celebrated his Thanksgiving Mass at his home parish of Sacred Heart the following day.
Under the Code of Canon Law, the standard minimum age for ordination to the priesthood is 25; however, a dispensation was granted by Bishop Robert McGuckin to allow Webb to be ordained a year earlier, making him the youngest Catholic priest in Australia at the time. He was appointed Parish Priest of Stanthorpe, a town in southern Queensland, effective 1 September 2025, after previously serving as the Parish Administrator. He has served as the Vocations Director for the Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba since 2025. In late 2025, he travelled to Rome and concelebrated the canonisation Mass for Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati at St Peter's Square with Pope Leo XIV.