WelCom is the monthly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Wellington. Print copies of the eight-page newsletter are free and available in parishes, and sent to parishes and schools in PDF form. The archive contains WelCom stories published from 2007 to 2026 (May).
Catholics are being encouraged to reflect on the infinite dignity of every person as the Church in Aotearoa New Zealand marks Support Life Sunday on 13 October.
Each year, the Catholic Church chooses a key theme for Support Life Sunday. The Vatican’s document Dignitas Infinita (On Human Dignity) is the focus for 2024.
John the Baptist Kinh van Nguyen, one of the Archdiocese of Wellington’s seminarians, was ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons on Friday 6 September by Archbishop Paul Martin sm, at Sacred Heart Church, Ponsonby, in Auckland.
I write this editorial comment to you from Rome [in September] where, along with Bishop Richard Laurenson of Hamilton, I am attending a course for new bishops.
New Zealand, still considered a missionary country, is under the care of the Dicastery for Evangelisation. Consequently, new bishops from New Zealand gather with other missionary countries from around the world for this programme.
Two New Zealand bishops, Richard Laurenson and John Adams, attended the Baby Bishops course in Rome, a formation programme for newly ordained bishops. The event ran from 15 to 22 September and gathered 267 new bishops from all over the world for training, reflection and dialogue on their roles within the Church.
The Māori King, Tuheitia Paki, crowned Te Arikinui Kiingi Tuheitia, died on 30 August 2024, at age 69. His death came just nine days after he celebrated his 18th anniversary as king of the Kiingitanga, or Māori king movement, established in 1858 to unite the Māori tribes.
More than 400 church leaders have signed an open letter to MPs calling on them to vote down David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill at its first reading.
Mary Potter Hospice has been recognised for its decades of dedicated mahi and specialist care with the Supreme Award at the 2024 Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards for Wellington City. The awards were announced at an event at the National Library on 31 July.
In a highly anticipated report on the alleged decades-long apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Medjugorje, the Vatican’s doctrinal office has endorsed prudent devotion to Mary at the popular pilgrimage site in Bosnia and Herzegovina but has withheld any declaration on whether the alleged visions are supernatural in origin.
After a television documentary accused a Scottish fishing company of modern-day slavery, a Catholic charity is calling on Britain’s Home Office to do more to protect people in the fishing industry.
Religious leaders in Springfield, Ohio gathered in September to denounce false claims that Haitian migrants in the area were ‘eating pets’.
Rev Carl Ruby of Central Christian Church addressed the issue directly during a service, declaring ‘Haitians are not eating pets in Springfield’. His remarks came after former President Donald Trump made the unfounded, sensational claim during a presidential debate.