Society of Mary New Zealand chooses new leader

Friday, July 5th, 2013

David Kennerley has been chosen as the leader of the Society of Mary in New Zealand.

David hails from Clive in Hawkes Bay where he was born to Val and Harry Kennerley in 1955. He enjoyed family life with his brothers Philip and Peter and was educated at St Joseph’s Primary School, Hastings and Napier Boys High School, Napier.

He joined the Society of Mary seminary at Greenmeadows and was professed a Marist in 1978, having completed a novitiate in Palmerston North. He was ordained in Hastings by Bishop John Rodgers in 1982.

Then began a full life of ministry, beginning with ten years teaching at St Patrick’s College Silverstream (1983-1992) with a year’s full-time studies at Auckland University, residing at Marcellin Hall and working towards a M.Ed in Guidance and Counselling.

David then trained to be a Novice Master at Black Rock Ireland and Rome (1993-1994). He worked as Novice Master at Maryknoll, near Napier in 1995. He resided at Futuna, Wellington, in 1996 and joined the seminary staff in Auckland in 1997 as Assistant.

After a noviciate in Tutu, Fiji, as Socius or Assistant, further time was spent in the States first as Novice master (1999) at Isabella St, Boston, Massachusetts. He had a year at Notre Dame in Detroit and then was Novice Master for two novitiates at Cambridge, MA. He then was Novice Master two other years at the Marist English Language Novitiate, Sydney, Australia (2004-2005).

David returned to NZ in 2006 and lived and ministered at St Mary of the Angels parish, Wellington (2007-2008) before going on Renewal in Ireland at Milltown, Dublin.

He joined his present community in Wellington, called Pa Maria, in 2009 which focuses on Spirituality ministry. David was elected to the Society of Mary Provincial Council in 2011 and then as Provincial-Elect in June 2013.

David has a wide education having obtained as a seminarian both a B.A. from Victoria University, Wellington, and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the Angelicum, a Dominican University in Rome.

He qualified with a M.Ed (Guidance/Counselling) from Auckland University and for the NZ Teacher Registration. He attended a Religious Formation Programme at Loreto House, Dublin and a Marist Family Renewal at Marcellin Hall, Auckland. He studied at the Christian Institute for Study of Human Sexuality at Silverspring, Washington D.C.

Fr Kennerley currently is engaged in ministry with Rachael Vineyard, a group for women in need, does retreat work and reflection days for individuals and groups and is part of the Cenacle Retreat in Daily Life Team. He has a special love of ‘things Marist’ and Marist history and so is well equipped to lead the NZ Province of the Society of Mary.

David now has time to reflect and prepare to take office as Provincial at the start of February 2014.

A new Provincial Council is to be elected to work with him.