A New Bishop of Christchurch is Appointed by Pope Francis

Pope Francis has appointed Father Paul Martin SM as the next Bishop of the Christchurch Diocese. Bishop-Elect Paul Martin will be the tenth Bishop of Christchurch and succeeds Bishop Barry Jones who died in February 2016.

Bishop Patrick Dunn, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC), said “we are delighted that Bishop-Elect Paul has accepted the call to this special ministry. On behalf of all the New Zealand Bishops I warmly welcome him to our New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference. We know that he will bring a new voice and a valuable perspective to our discussions.”

Bishop-Elect Paul Martin SM was born in Hastings in 1967, one of five children. He entered formation for the Society of Mary in February 1985, and studied in theology and arts at Victoria University in Wellington. He completed a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology at the Angelicum University from Rome and studied to become a teacher. Bishop-Elect Paul has taught English and Religious Education in New Zealand and has held the roles of Rector at St Patrick’s College in Wellington and Deputy Rector in Pastoral Care at St Bede’s College, Christchurch.

The Bishop-Elect has also served as President of the Wellington Secondary Schools Principals Association and was a part of the Marist community at the time it was working in Māori pastoral care at Rawene in the South Hokianga. More recently, he was General Bursar for the Society of Mary in Rome.

Bishop Dunn said “it is wonderful for Christchurch that they will receive a Bishop who has worked with a range of communities, has extensive pastoral experience and comes to the role with a wealth of knowledge and expertise.”

As news of his appointment was announced, Bishop-Elect Paul said “I’d like to express what a privilege it is to be chosen to serve in the Diocese of Christchurch as Bishop, following in the footsteps of those before me. I am really looking forward to taking up this ministry and leading the Diocese.”

Bishop Dunn said “I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Father Rick Loughnan who has given us his dedicated service as Diocesan Administrator for almost two years. During this time he has worked tirelessly to support the priests and people of the Diocese, and has represented them well at our regular meetings of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.”

Father Rick Loughnan has been the administrator of the diocese following the passing of Bishop Barry Jones last year. Commenting at the time of the announcement, Father Rick said “we are delighted with the appointment by Pope Francis and look forward to welcoming Bishop-Elect Paul with open arms.”

It is expected that his ordination will be in the first part of next year.

ENDS

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) is the national body for the bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Conference has a number of agencies and offices to assist the bishops in carrying out national level functions.

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