[2] In 1953, shortly before he turned 23, Collins attended a day of recollection at Kensington Monastery with a group of Catholic police; it was here that he first felt drawn to the priesthood.
[6][7] After completing his theological studies, he was ordained a priest in 1963, at age 32,[2] and appointed to the parish of Randwick (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church[5]) in Sydney.
[2][3] In November 1986, Collins accompanied Pope John Paul II as he visited Darwin and Alice Springs[8][9] as part of the Australian papal tour.
[1] He died on 8 August 2014 at the St Joseph's Aged Care Home in Kensington,[4] and was interred in a crypt at Saint Mary's Cathedral, Darwin.
[3][13] Ted Collins Village, a housing complex opened in 2011 and run by the St Vincent de Paul Society in Darwin, is named after him.