Bishop Anthony Randazzo and the Executive of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conference of Oceania (FCBCO) were greeted with a whakatyau ceremony – the traditional Maori welcome – when they arrived in Wellington, New Zealand this week.
As President of the FCBCO, Bishop Anthony will chair a number of meetings with the Executive to discuss a range of important issues and opportunities across the vast Oceania region.
These discussions are a forerunner to the gathering of Bishops in Rome for the Second Assembly of the XVI General Assembly of the Order of the Synod of Bishops in October.
The traditional greeting includes the hongi, where two people press their noses together. This ceremony was followed by speeches in both Maori and English, and an exchange of songs between the welcoming party, hosted by the
Archbishop Paul Martin, Archbishop of Wellington. Following morning tea with guests from around the Archdiocese, the Bishops held their first formal session of the gathering which will run for three days.
The FCBCO is the regional grouping that comprises the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Island and the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (CEPAC) – which includes Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna.
While in Wellington the Bishops will have the opportunity to see the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and the preparations for its reopening over the weekend of June 7-9.
The cathedral has been closed for a number of years for earthquake restrengthening and restoration works. This will include a dawn blessing, a Mass of Thanksgiving, a Day of Adoration on the Saturday followed by a Cathedral Parish “homecoming” Mass on the Sunday.
Bishop Anthony; Damian Dempsey, Executive Director NZCBC; Archbishop Paul Martin, Archbishop of Wellington and host; Bishop Michael Dooley, Bishop of Dunedin; Bishop Just Ain Soongie, Bishop of Wabag, Papua New Guines; Fr Chris De Souza, General Secretary ACBC; Bishop Brian Mascord, Bishop of Wollongong; Bishop Ryan Jimenez, Bishop of Chalan Kanoa, Northern Mariana Islands; Archbishop Peter Loy Chong, Archbishop of Suva, and Cormac McCaughan.