Auckland Catholic businessman Wenceslaus Anthony was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in the recent New Year’s Honours list in recognition of his services to New Zealand – India relations.
Mr Anthony is immediate past chairman of the India New Zealand Business Council and is now head of government relations for the Council.
He has also overseen the establishment of new chapters of the Council in Wellington and Christchurch and has successfully forged relationships between business organisations of the two countries.
Mr Anthony his family came to settle in New Zealand from India in 1999, and in a few short years has make his mark not only in the corporate world but in the life of the Church in Auckland.
In addition to his work fostering leadership skills for young people, Mr Anthony is on the board of the Catholic Caring Foundation of the Auckland Diocese.
On receiving his honour he spoke of the inspiration he receives from Bishop Dunn because of the opportunities the bishop gives to lay people to build up the Church.
Above all, he gave thanks to God saying that he is just an instrument in God’s hands.
“I see it as a tribute to all the organisations and all the people involved in this work because one cannot achieve anything on one’s own,” he said, and added that faith, family and friends all played an integral role in his achievements.
As a young man in India he worked voluntarily with Mother Teresa and her sisters in Calcutta. It was an experience that has remained an inspiration in his life.
In the last three years he has played a key role in organising an interfaith committee to honour Mother Teresa, and under the auspices of Bishop Patrick Dunn the committee hosts an annual event of prayer and reflection in which people of many faiths come together to pray and reflect.
Source
- Supplied: Lyndsay Freer
- Image: Supplied Lyndsay Freer