Catholic Church in New Zealand
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.
Catholic Church in New Zealand | |
|---|---|
| Hāhi Katorika ki Aotearoa | |
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington | |
| 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) |
| Number of followers | 470,919 (2018) |
| Official website | catholic.org.nz |
| Part of a series on the |
| Catholic Church by country |
|---|
| Catholicism portal |
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.
The church claims to have grown to be the largest Christian denomination in New Zealand, with a culturally diverse membership. However, "Anglican" is the largest single Christian religious affiliation in New Zealand, according to the 2018 census, which recorded 314,913 adherents in New Zealand. "Roman Catholic" recorded 295,743. When all "catholic" religious affiliations are added together they total 473,145 people, representing about 10.02 percent of the total population. But the word "catholic" in English can mean either "of the Catholic faith" or "relating to the historic doctrine and practice of the Western Church".
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.