There are four Divine Word Missionaries based in and around Wellington, New Zealand, engaged in a variety of ministries.
Archdiocese of Wellington
Our SVD priests, Fr Marlon Maylon and Fr John Quang Phan have the pastoral care of the Parish of the Holy Spirit and work with other priests and lay pastoral leaders from the Archdiocese of Wellington as part of a new expression of collaborative ministry.
Archbishop John Dew has introduced Lay Pastoral Leadership into the Archdiocese both as a way to address the shortage of priests and to celebrate and support the baptismal calling of lay people in the Church.
Under the Lay Pastoral Leadership model, lay men and women are trained so that they can work alongside priests in pastoral area teams, not replacing the priests, but complementing them and collaborating with them in providing pastoral care in a particular area of the Archdiocese.
The parish is made up of four churches, Sacred Heart Parish, Petone, St Patrick's Wainuiomata, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Waiwhetu and San Antonio Church, Eastbourne.
The parish is is a multicultural community, made up primarily of Kiwi, Maori, Pacific Islander, Filipino and Sri Lankan peoples.
Missionz – (The Pontifical Mission Societies)
Fr Bernard Espiritu SVD has been appointed by the Vatican as the National Director of Missionz – the Pontifical Mission Societies in New Zealand.
Based in Auckland, Fr Bernard is charged with promoting and finding funding and support for the four Pontifical Mission Societies in NZ. The four societies are: Propagation of the Faith; Holy Childhood; St Peter the Apostle; and the Missionary Union.
Archdiocese of Auckland
Fr Alejandro de la Sotta Dominguez SVD has been appointed to the Archdiocese of Auckland as an Assistant Parish Priest and chaplain to the growing Latin American Catholic community.
