Military Ordinariate of New Zealand Ordinariatus Militaris Nova Zelandia | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Ecclesiastical province | Immediatelyexempt to theHoly See |
| Coordinates | 41°16′36″S174°46′35″E / 41.2768°S 174.7763°E /-41.2768; 174.7763 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 28 October 1976 (49 years ago) |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Bishop | Paul Gerard Martin |
| Website | |
| www.catholicmil.org.nz | |
The Military Ordinariate of New Zealand is aLatin Churchmilitary ordinariate of the Catholic Church.[1] It is headquartered inWellington. Immediatelyexempt to theHoly See, it providespastoral care to Catholics serving in theNew Zealand Defence Force and their families.[2][3][4]
It was created as a military dictate on 28 October 1976, and elevated to a military ordinariate on 21 July 1986. The first military vicar, Owen Noel Snedden, was also anauxiliary bishop ofWellington. His successor,Edward Gaines, was also theBishop of Hamilton. Since 1995, the post of MilitaryOrdinary has been held by theArchbishops of Wellington.[2][3][4]
