In just over a month, New Zealand Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Martin Krebs, will bid farewell to New Zealand as he leaves to take up a new position in Uruguay.
An announcement regarding the new apostolic nuncio for New Zealand and the Pacific is expected to be made in the coming month.
On his time in New Zealand, Archbishop Martin says, “in this relatively small nation, I was happy to see how much attention is paid to people whom others consider too small and too weak.
And as a keen hiker, I often looked down from hills far over the sea, deeply enjoying the large horizons offered to the people of this country, which for a time has been also my country.”
During his time in New Zealand, Archbishop Martin has actively participated in the life of the Church becoming part of his local parish community in the northern suburbs of Wellington.
Parishioners at St Francis of Assisi Parish will fondly remember singing Christmas carols together with the Nuncio.
Bishop Patrick Dunn, of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, expressed his sadness at the departure of the archbishop.
“There is always some sadness, when someone who has become a friend and colleague departs, but we also know that these periodic shifts are a fact of life for our nuncios.
Archbishop Krebs leaves behind many friends in New Zealand and the Pacific.
We wish him well on his new appointment and assure him of our prayers as he leaves the vast region he has served so diligently for the past five years.”
Archbishop Martin has been Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia.
He was also Apostolic Delegate in six territories in the Pacific (French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, Saipan, Guam, American Samoa), and in three small countries (Tokelau, Tuvalu and Niue).
He was based in Wellington during the term of his office.
Prior to becoming a Nuncio, Archbishop Martin worked in the Apostolic Nunciatures to Burundi, Japan, Austria, the Czech Republic, the European Union and the United States of America.
From 2008 to 2013, he was Apostolic Nuncio to Guinea and Mali.
Uruguay has a population of 3.44 million people, with 1.8 million living in its capital city, Montevideo.
According to a 2008 survey by the The National Institute of Statistics of Uruguay, Catholicism is the main religion, with 45.7% of the population identifying themselves as Catholic.
Source
- Supplied: Ko te Huinga Pīhopa o te Hāhi Katorika o Aotearoa/The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) Amanda Gregan
- Image: wn.catholic.org