Michael Dooley to be ordained Bishop of Dunedin on Thursday

Monday, April 23rd, 2018

Later this week Michael Dooley will become the 7th bishop of Dunedin. His ordination will take place in the Dunedin town hall on Thursday.

Over 1000 people are expected to attend including clergy, the Vatican’s diplomatic representative, the apostolic nuncio Archbishop Martin Krebs, civic leaders and other Church leaders.

The ordination will be followed on Friday morning with the Installation Mass at 9.30am in St Joseph’s Cathedral.

This Mass marks the reception of the bishop in the cathedral church of the diocese, at which he will preside for the first time with the priests and members of the diocese.

The President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC), Bishop Patrick Dunn, expressed the joy of the Conference and the New Zealand Catholic community on the ordination.

“We welcome wholeheartedly Bishop Michael Dooley. Thursday, 26 April 2018 will be an important day for our new bishop and for everyone in the Dunedin diocese. We pray for Bishop Michael as he prepares for his ministry among us.”

Colin Campbell, the current Bishop of Dunedin, said of the appointment “We feel most blessed to be able to welcome bishop-elect Michael into this role, and know his extensive knowledge of and work in this diocese will be welcome and gratefully appreciated.

“I have been blessed with Michael as my vicar-general and in the last eighteen months, taking on the role of financial administrator he has done a sterling job with this portfolio in the diocese. We are all truly blessed by Pope Francis’ choice of Michael as the seventh bishop of the Dunedin Diocese.”

Michael Dooley was born in Invercargill in 1961 to parents Joseph Dooley and Mary Hogan.

He was educated at Heddon Bush Primary School and Central Southland College.

Before entering Holy Cross College in 1984, Dooley completed an engineering apprenticeship as a fitter and turner.

He has Bachelor of Theology degree from Otago University and a Masters from Melbourne’s College of Divinity.

Dooley was ordained on 13 December 1989. From 1995, he has served as a member of the Priests Council and was a Parish Priest for over 10 years in Southland and Otago.

His other roles have included: