Bishop John spent several days in Wairoa from Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November, visiting the sick and homebound, spending time at St Joseph’s primary school and meeting people in the surrounding area.
Describing Wairoa as “the furthest outpost of our diocese”, he said the visit was an opportunity to spend time with a community that can feel geographically distant from the wider diocese.
During his stay, Bishop John was hosted by Father Trevor Tindall SM, parish priest of St Peter’s Wairoa, and Brother Denis O’Brien SM. He spoke appreciatively of their work in the parish, saying “they’re doing a fine job”.
His visit also took him into the hinterland of Wairoa and to Tawhiti-a-Maru Marae. He reflected on the importance of marae and the relationship between the Catholic Church and Māori as part of the kaupapa in the area. “I was very pleased to experience that,” he said.
Bishop John acknowledged the difficulties he believed the community had faced, including natural disasters, isolation and “infidelities in the church”.
“Having said that, I discovered a real resilience there, a beautiful spiritual courage, and a deep connection at the spiritual level with the Māori people,” he said.
Bishop John said he tries to travel around the diocese and spend time with its outlying communities. He identified geography as one of the diocese’s challenges and emphasised the importance of staying connected with people beyond its main centres.
“If we ignore people who are in the hinterland and just concentrate on the core, I think we’re going to be the poorer for it,” he said.
“So best I can, I’d like to be able to travel and be with those communities.”
Bishop John with students and staff from St Joseph’s Wairoa