COVID restrictions are hampering some parish clergy appointments.
Most visibly in the list of Wellington appointments, is the announcement of Fr Bill Warwick as the new parish priest of Holy Trinity parish, Wellington East.
Warwick replaces the Capuchin Friars, who have served in the diocese for 62 years. He will have responsibility for the Kilbirnie, Lyall Bay, Miramar, Strathmore and Seatoun communities.
Originally the Wellington East parish was to be staffed by a religious community, the priests of the Society of the Divine Word, however, with the government deeming religious workers as non-essential, the SVD priests cannot gain entrance.
A missionary country, New Zealand, continues to rely heavily on overseas clergy to fill essential positions, but with no wriggle-room, religious workers, without New Zealand passports, remain abroad.
The Archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew, asks the archdiocese to continue to pray for the five seminarians the Archdiocese has training for the priesthood at the National Seminary, Holy Cross College.
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