John Adams (bishop)

Last updated


John Adams
3rd Bishop of Palmerston North
Bishop John Adams 2024.jpg
Adams in 2024
Archdiocese Wellington
Diocese Palmerston North
Appointed22 June 2023
Predecessor Charles Drennan
Orders
Ordination4 July 2003
Consecration30 September 2023
by  Stephen Lowe (principal consecrator)
Owen Dolan and Peter Cullinane (principal co-consecrators)
Personal details
Born
John Lewis Adams

(1963-11-18) 18 November 1963 (age 60)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Nationality New Zealander
Denomination Roman Catholic Church
Occupation Roman Catholic bishop
ProfessionCleric
Education St Bede's College
Alma mater
MottoShow us your light and your truth
Ordination history of
John Adams
History
Priestly ordination
Date4 July 2003
Place Christchurch, New Zealand
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorStephen Lowe
Co-consecratorsMichael Dooley, Michael Gielen (bishop)
Date30 September 2023
Place Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Palmerston North
Styles of
John Adams
Mitre plain 2.png
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style Your Grace
Religious style Bishop

John Lewis Adams (born 18 November 1963) is a New Zealand the third bishop of Palmerston North, having been appointed by Pope Francis on 22 June 2023. [1] [2] His consecration took place on 30 September 2023. [3]

Contents

Early and personal life

Adams was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. [4] His mother trained for five years to be a "an SMSM sister" before leaving and meeting her husband, who was a very proficient snooker player and who had represented New Zealand at the sport. [5] Adams was educated at St Bede's College, Christchurch before attending several tertiary facilities to become a trained teacher. Adams is a keen sportsman. He has played "top class table tennis", "senior cricket" and, as a hunter, he has been helicoptered, with others, "onto the top of the Southern Alps" and spent a week in permanent snow there. [5] He enjoys a game of golf. [5]

Adams trained as a priest at Good Shepherd House, Christchurch in 1995 before moving to the Holy Cross Seminary, Auckland, in 1996. [4]

Priesthood

Adams was ordained as a priest on 4 July 2003 in Christchurch New Zealand. During his time as a priest in the Christchurch Diocese, he held many positions: [4]

  • CBS Music President: 2002 – current [6]
  • Tertiary Chaplain: 2008 – 2010
  • Council of Priests: 2009 – 2023
  • Clergy Trust Fund: 2011 – 2021
  • Episcopal Vicar for Education: 2013 – 2023
  • College of Consultors: 2014 – 2023
  • Chair, Council of Priests: 2015 – 2023
  • Chair, Education Council: 2015 – 2023

Adams was a priest, assistant priest and administrator in both Christchurch and Greymouth.

Episcopacy

On 22 June 2023, Adams was appointed as the third bishop of Palmerston North by Pope Francis [1] and he was consecrated and installed on 30 September 2023.

Approach

Episcopal ministry

Adams said that he intended "to take seriously the role of the episcopal ministry of sanctifying, teaching and governing the People of God. So that, to quote the second Vatican Council, we might continue to become 'a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.' " [5]

Tradition

Adams supports the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, and offered it himself when he was a parish priest in Rangiora. He has expressed sympathy for the current plight of Traditional Catholics, stating that "The big word at the moment is inclusion, but it tends to only go one way. Traditional Catholics have a terrible time of it at the moment. There’s not much inclusion heading in that direction, it seems to me." [7]

Adams has stated that the church is ever ancient and ever new. "We tend to be rather good at one side of that. We are either on about the ancient, or on about the new. I would like, during my time here, to see a way in which we might live out both those things. There is a deep Catholic instinct to suggest both/and, rather than either/or. And I think the Church does itself or its people no favours when we choose one or the other." [5]


Parish renewal

Adams has expressed his desire to "go deeply into the issue of parish renewal. What are our parishes like? Are they vibrant places? Are they places where the faith is lived in a deep and ardent way? Are they schools of the spiritual life? Is there a strong desire to evangelise and take - you know, we are custodians of the greatest love story ever told? Are we taking it out to the people, and are they hearing it?" "I think they are important issues and I hope to foster a great sense of parish renewal, if we can do that, during my time here." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in New Zealand</span>

The Catholic Church in New Zealand is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope in Rome, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the New Zealand bishops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Williams (cardinal)</span> New Zealand Catholic cardinal (1930-2023)

Thomas Stafford Williams was a New Zealand cardinal in the Catholic Church and the fifth Archbishop of Wellington from 1979 to 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Dew (cardinal)</span> Roman Catholic archbishop (born 1948)

John Atcherley Dew is a New Zealand Roman Catholic bishop. He was the sixth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington and the Metropolitan of New Zealand, serving from 2005 until 2023. He was also created a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015.

Philippe Joseph Viard was a French priest and the first Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Wellington, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington</span> Catholic archdiocese in New Zealand

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington is the metropolitan archdiocese of New Zealand. Catholics number about 83,214. Parishes number 22 and the archdiocese extends over central New Zealand between Levin and Masterton in the north to Kaikoura to Westport in the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland</span> Latin Catholic jurisdiction in New Zealand

The Diocese of Auckland is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in New Zealand. It was one of two dioceses in the country that were established on 20 June 1848. Auckland became a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Wellington in 1887. A large area of the diocese south of Auckland was split from the diocese on 6 March 1980 to form the Diocese of Hamilton. As of 2021, almost 40 per cent of New Zealand’s 471,000 Catholics lived within the diocese of Auckland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch</span> Catholic diocese in New Zealand

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Wellington. Its cathedral and see city are located in Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It was formed on 5 May 1887 from a portion of the territory of the Diocese of Wellington, which was elevated to archdiocese later that same month.

Denis George Browne is the bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand having served as its bishop from 1994 to 2014. Previously, he was Bishop of Cook Islands and Niue (1977–1983) and then became the tenth Catholic Bishop of Auckland (1983–1994).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Moxon</span> New Zealand Anglican bishop

Sir David John Moxon is a New Zealand Anglican bishop. He was until June 2017, the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome. He was previously the Bishop of Waikato in the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki, the archbishop of the New Zealand dioceses and one of the three primates of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. In the 2014 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Anglican Church.

Colin David Campbell is a New Zealand Roman Catholic bishop. He was the sixth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunedin from 2004 until 2018, when he reached the retirement age of 75. He is currently the interim Rector of Holy Cross Seminary in Auckland.

Edward Michael Joyce was the fourth Roman Catholic bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand. He was appointed by Pope Pius XII on 18 April 1950 and died in office on 28 January 1964. He was the first priest of the Christchurch diocese to be made a bishop.

Brian Patrick Ashby was the fifth Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand. He was appointed by Pope Paul VI on 11 July 1964, resigned the see on 4 July 1985, and died on 5 June 1988. He was the leading New Zealand Catholic bishop in attempting to implement the decrees of the Vatican Council II and he was the leading bishop on social justice issues.

Denis William Hanrahan was the sixth Roman Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand. He was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Christchurch on 25 March 1984 by Pope John Paul II, succeeded to the see of Christchurch on 4 July 1985 on the retirement of his predecessor Bishop Ashby and died in office on 1 February 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Drennan</span> 21st-century Catholic bishop

Charles Edward Drennan is a New Zealand Bishop who was formerly the second Bishop of Palmerston North, New Zealand, from 2012 to 2019. On 4 October 2019 he resigned his position. Two allegations of "unacceptable behaviour" of a sexual nature were made. An investigation by the Catholic Church's New Zealand Office for Professional Standards found that the behaviour was unacceptable for a Catholic bishop but not criminal in nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Lowe (bishop of Auckland)</span> New Zealand prelate

Stephen Marmion Lowe is a New Zealand prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. On 18 December 2021, Pope Francis appointed him as the twelfth Bishop of Auckland, succeeding Bishop Patrick Dunn. From 2015 until his Auckland appointment, he was the Bishop of Hamilton, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Martin (archbishop)</span> New Zealand prelate

Paul Gerard MartinS.M. is a New Zealand prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as the seventh Metropolitan Archbishop of Wellington and eighth ordinary of the see of Wellington, since 4 May 2023. From March 2018 until January 2021, he was the tenth Bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand and its Apostolic Administrator from January 2021 until May 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Dooley</span> 20th and 21st-century Catholic Bishop of Dunedin

Michael Joseph Dooley is a New Zealand prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed as the 7th Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand on 22 February 2017, ordained bishop on 26 April 2018 and installed on 27 April 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Gielen (bishop)</span>

Michael Andrew Gielen is a New Zealand prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as the 11th Bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand since May 2022. Gielen was previously auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Auckland.

References

  1. 1 2 "Pope Francis appoints John Adams as Bishop of Palmerston North", CathNews New Zealand (Retrieved 23 June 2023)
  2. "Fr John Adams is the new Palmerston North Bishop", NZ Catholic, 23 June, 2023 (Retrieved 23 June 2023)
  3. reporter, Manawatū (22 June 2023). "Palmerston North to get new Catholic bishop". Stuff. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Fr John Adams of appointed Bishop of Palmerston North – Catholic Diocese of Christchurch" . Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Michael Otto, "Invitation to be Palmerston North bishop a "shock", NZ Catholic, July 16 - 29, 2023, p. 4.
  6. "CBS Music". www.cathedral.org.nz. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  7. https://pndiocese.org.nz/news-and-events/excited-by-that-catholic-breadth/
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by 3rd Bishop of Palmerston North
2023–present
Succeeded by
incumbent