 Catholic Church in New Zealand | |
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| Hāhi Katorika ki Aotearoa | |
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| Classification | Catholic |
| Orientation | Latin |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Pope | Pope Francis |
| Archbishop | Paul Martin |
| Region | New Zealand |
| Language | English, Latin |
| Headquarters | Viard House, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington |
| Origin | 1842 (vicariate)[1] |
| Number of followers | 470,919 (2018)[2] |
| Official website | catholic.org.nz |
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The Catholic Church in New Zealand (Māori: Te Hāhi Katorika ki Aotearoa) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope in Rome, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the New Zealand bishops.[3]
Catholicism was introduced to New Zealand in 1838 by missionaries from France, who converted Māori. As settlers from the British Isles arrived in New Zealand, many of them Irish Catholics, the Catholic Church became a settler church rather than a mission to Māori.[4]
According to the 2023 census, the largest single Christian religious affiliation in New Zealand, was "Christian (not further defined)" which recorded 364,644. "Roman Catholic" was second with 289,788.[5]
In New Zealand there is one archdiocese (Wellington) and five suffragan dioceses (Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton and Palmerston North). The church is overseen by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference. Its primate is the Metropolitan Archbishop of Wellington, who has been Paul Martin since 2023.[6]
- ^ "History". The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Statswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Home". New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ Sweetman, Rory (17 July 2018). "Catholic Church". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Stats NZ. 26 October 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ "Archdiocese of Wellington – Archbishop". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. Retrieved 25 January 2019.