Dioceses and Bishops

Biography

Bishop Stephen Lowe was born in Hokitika on 3 August 1962, the youngest child of Milly and Frank Lowe, with two older sisters Margaret and Dorothy.

He was educated at Hokitika Primary School, then St Mary�s Primary School and because there was no Catholic College in Hokitika he completed his secondary schooling at Westland High School.

Following school he worked for the NZ Forest Service in Hokitika and Christchurch and NZ Timberlands in Timaru. During this time he became involved in his local parish in Timaru North where he was involved in a young adults group and with youth in the parish.

In 1989 he discerned the call to priesthood and entered Holy Cross College seminary in Mosgiel in 1990. He completed his final year of seminary study at St Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia during 1994-1995. Bishop Lowe was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Christchurch in his home town at Hokitika in 1996.

He served as the assistant priest in the Mairehau, Ashburton and Greymouth parishes before being appointed parish priest of Timaru North and Chaplain of Roncalli College in 2000. From 2005-2007 he completed a Licence in Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was appointed to Holy Cross Seminary in 2008 where he served as Formation Director until the end of 2014. While based at the Seminary in Auckland, he served, for a time, as Parish Priest of Ponsonby.

Bishop Lowe was appointed Bishop of Hamilton on 22 November 2014 and received his Episcopal Ordination on 13 February 2015. He was appointed Bishop of Auckland on 18 December 2021.

He is the President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

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Biography

Father Michael Dooley was ordained on 13 December 1989. From 1995, he has served as a member of the Priests Council and was a Parish Priest for over 10 years in Southland and Otago.  

1990 � 1993    Chaplain, Verdon College, Invercargil

1994 � 1995    Chaplain, St Peters College, Gore

1998-1999       Director, Holy Cross Formation Centre, Mosgiel

2005 � 2007    Formator and Spiritual Director, Holy Cross Seminary, Auckland

2009 � 2017    Chaplain, Kavanagh College, Dunedin

He was appointed the 7th Bishop of Dunedin on 22 February 2017, ordained bishop on 26 April 2018 and installed on 27 April 2018.

He is the Vice President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

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Biography

Bishop John Lewis Adams

Ordained and installed as Bishop of Palmerston North 30 September 2023

Date of Birth: 18 November 1963
Place of Birth: Christchurch, New Zealand
Priestly Ordination: 4 July 2003; Diocese: Christchurch

EDUCATION:
Northcote Primary School, Christchurch 1968 - 1974
Casebrook Intermediate School, Christchurch 1975 - 1976
St Bede�s College, Christchurch 1977 - 1981

EDUCATION DEGREES/AWARDS/DIPLOMAS ATTAINED:
Bachelor of Science Canterbury University, NZ
Diploma in Teaching, Christchurch Technical College, NZ
Bachelor of Theology, Auckland, NZ
Advanced Diploma in Theology, Sydney, Australia

PRIESTLY FORMATION:
Good Shepherd House, Christchurch 1995
Holy Cross Seminary, Auckland, NZ 1996 - 2003

PRIESTLY MINISTRY:
July 2003 � February 2004: St Teresa�s Parish � assistant priest
2004 � 2005: St Patrick�s Parish, Greymouth � assistant priest
2005 � 2007: St Patrick�s Parish, Greymouth � administrator
2008 � 2010: Christ the King Parish � assistant
2011 � 2018: St Joseph�s Parish � parish priest
2019 � current St Peter Chanel Parish � parish priest

OTHER APPOINTMENTS (all in Christchurch Diocese):
Tertiary Chaplain 2008 - 2010
Clergy Trust Fund 2011 � 2021
Council of Priests 2009 � current
Chair, Council of Priests 2015 � 2023
College of Consultors 2014 � still current
Episcopal Vicar for Education 2013 � current
Chair, Education Council 2015 � current

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Biography

The episcopal ordination of Bishop Richard Philip James Laurenson as Bishop of Hamilton took place on 8 December 2023, following Pope Francis announcing the appointment on 25 October 2023.

Bishop Laurenson was born on 4 July 1968 in Hamilton, New Zealand. He attended Holy Cross Seminary in Dunedin. He has a Baccalaureate in Theology from the University of Otago obtained in 1992. He was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Hamilton by Bishop Denis Browne on 12 August 1995. In 2010 he obtained a Licentiate in Canon law from the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome.

After ordination, Bishop Laurenson held these pastoral roles:

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• 1995: Parish Vicar at St Mary�s, Rotorua
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• 1998: Parish Vicar at St Mary Immaculate, Tauranga
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• 1999: Administrator of St Pius X Parish, Melville
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• 2000: Parish Priest of St Joseph, Waihi
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• 2006: Parish Priest of Immaculate Conception, Taumaranui
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• 2007-2010: Licentiate in Canon law, Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome
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• 2011: Parish Priest of St Joseph, Fairfield; St Matthew, Hillcrest; St Peter Chanel, Te Rapa
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• 2013: Parish Priest of St Joseph, Fairfield
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• 2015: Parish Priest of St Joseph, Fairfield; St Peter Chanel, Te Rapa
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• 2016: Parish Administrator of the Cathedral and StJoseph�s, Fairfield; St Matthew, Hillcrest; St Peter Chanel, Te Rapa
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• 2019: Parish Priest Holy Cross Hamilton North (formerly St Joseph and St Peter Chanel)
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• 2021: Parish Priest All Saints by the Sea, Papamoa Coast.
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Bishop Laurenson was a military chaplain for about 10 years. Between 2000 and 2002 he served for a period with the peacekeeping forces in Bougainville and Timor Leste. He was a Judge and Assistant Judicial Vicar from 2016 to 2019, and, since 2019 Defender of the Bond at the Tribunal of the Catholic Church in New Zealand.

He was Vicar General of the Hamilton Diocese from 2012 to 2014, then Diocesan Administrator in 2014 and 2015, then Vicar General again in 2015 and 2016. At the time of his appointment as Bishop, he was Diocesan Chancellor, Vicar for Marriage and a member of the College of Consultors.

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Biography

Archbishop Paul Martin SM was installed as Archbishop of Wellington on 17 June 2023, following the retirement of Cardinal John Dew the month before. Archbishop Martin has earlier been appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Wellington on 2 January 2021. At the time of that appointment, he was Bishop of Christchurch.

Paul Martin SM was appointed the tenth Catholic Bishop of Christchurch in December 2017, with his consecration in March 2018. He replaced Bishop Barry Jones, who died in February 2016.

Archbishop Martin was born in Hastings in 1967, one of five children.  He entered formation for the Society of Mary in February 1985 and studied theology and arts at Victoria University of Wellington.
 
He completed a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology at the Angelicum University in Rome and studied to become a teacher.

Archbishop Martin is most recognised in the Society of Mary through his involvement in the education ministry, working in schools for 20 years. He taught at Pompallier College, Whangarei, and St Patrick�s College, Wellington, he was Deputy Rector at St Bede�s College, Christchurch, and Rector at St Patrick�s College Wellington. He also served as President of the Wellington Secondary School Principals Association.

While education was his primary ministry, for a time he worked in M?ori pastoral care in Rawene in the South Hokianga; as chaplain at Hato Paora College, Fielding, and as a member of the Society of Mary�s Provincial Council (governance board). Before his appointment as Bishop of Christchurch, he was Bursar General of the Society of Mary in Rome.

He is the Secretary of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

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Biography

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Michael Gielen as the Bishop of Christchurch in May 2022. He has previously been the Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland since March 2020.

Bishop Michael was born in Cambridge and raised in Tokoroa, the son of Henk and Maureen Gielen and the oldest of six siblings.

After studying at Holy Cross College in Mosgiel he was ordained as a priest in 1997 in Tokoroa by Bishop Max Mariu, SM, (the first M?ori Catholic bishop of New Zealand). He has been a priest for 24 years serving in Gisborne, Hamilton, Steubenville � USA, Mt Maunganui, Rome � Italy, and Director of Formation at Holy Cross Seminary before being appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland in 2020.  The deacon at his Auckland ordination Mass in March 2020 was his father, Deacon Henk Gielen.

Bishop Michael counts his Catholic faith and his family as the greatest blessings of his life; through them he has come to know Jesus in the most profound way. Sharing this Good News is his life�s work.

He is also a keen cyclist. In 2015 he and eight seminarians of Holy Cross Seminary cycled for 33 days from Cape Reinga to Bluff to promote vocations for the priesthood. His other passions included rugby and cricket, which he played, and just about all sports going.

He always has a book �on the go�, covering most genres, latterly he has enjoyed NZ historical novels. He loves journeying with people from every walk and background of life; they have made him who he is.

[image src=\"/assets/Coat-of-Arms.png\" id=\"3825\" width=\"235\" height=\"200\" class=\"leftAlone ss-htmleditorfield-file image\"]

Bishop Michael�s Latin motto is Totus Tuus:  �All Yours.\"

The Bishop�s personal coat of arms is blazoned in heraldic terms: Or, a fess wavy Azure; between, in chief the Christogram Chi & Rho Gules and in base upon a trimount issuant in base Vert a Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) statant Proper.

In plain English, the arms may be described: A wavy blue band bisects a gold shield with the Christogram Chi Roh in red in the upper part of the shield and, in the lower part, a Tui in its proper colours standing on the central of three green hillocks. The various elements in the arms make the following references:
� The blue and gold are the principal colours of the arms of Pope Saint John Paul II.
� The blue central wavy band also references the Virgin Mary, to whom Bishop Michael has always had a deep devotion, and the Waikato River which he has lived close to for much of his childhood.
� The trimount or green hillocks in the base reference the rolling hills that have featured in Bishop Michael�s life: Maungatautari, Pirongia and Rangitoto.
� The Tui bird is another personal element, the Bishop having a spiritual connection with the bird and its magnificent voice from his earliest days.

Bishop Michael\'s motto Totus Tuus, translated All Yours, is in reference to the commitment of his life to Jesus through the intercession of Mary.

It is significant this motto was also that of Pope Saint John Paul II of blessed memory. The Bishop�s arms were designed by Richard d�Apice AM of the Australian Heraldry Society and Father Guy Selvester and were rendered by Roger Barnes of the Heraldry Society of New Zealand.

Date of Birth: 2 June 1971
Place of Birth: Cambridge, New Zealand
Baptised: 27 June 1971, St. Peter�s, Cambridge
Priestly Ordination: 29 November 1997 ; Diocese: Hamilton

Education:
Forest View High School, Tokoroa 1985-1989:
Seminary formation at Holy Cross College, Mosgiel 1992-1995:  
Bachelor of Theology, University of Otago 2005-2007:  
Master in Theology, Franciscan University of Steubenville, USA  2012-2014:
Licentiate in Theology, St. Peter Favre Centre for Formators to the   Priesthood and Religious Life, Gregorian University, Rome  
 
Priestly Ministry:
1997-2002:  Assistant Priest, St. Mary�s Star of the Sea, Gisborne
1999-2002:  Member, Priests Council, Diocese of Hamilton
2001-2002:  Chair, Gisborne Ministers Association
2002-2005:  Parish Priest, St. Columba, Frankton and Holy Name, Raglan
2007-2012: Parish Priest, St. Thomas More, Mt. Maunganui and St. Patrick�s,   Te Puke
2009-2012:  Vocation Director, Diocese of Hamilton
2009-2012: Member, Priests Council and College of Consultors, Diocese of   Hamilton
2011-2012: Dean of the Pacific Moana Deanery, Diocese of Hamilton
2014-2019: Director of Formation, Holy Cross Seminary, Auckland
 
6 January 2020: Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland
7 March 2020: Ordained a Bishop and Installed as Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland

21 May 2022: Appointed Bishop of Christchurch

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