WELLINGTON, ARCHDIOCESE OF. - It is located in the southern part of New Zealand and originally formed part of the vicariate of Western Oceania, erected in 1835, and comprised the whole of New Zealand.

On 22 Jan. 1840 the first group of immigrants reached the island and founded the city of W. On 20 June 1848 the vicariate was divided into the two dioceses of Auckland (v.) and Port Nicholson, so that two thirds of the island group belonged to the diocese of Port Nicholson. By a letter of Propaganda of 18 Dec. 1851 the name was changed to that of W., and on 10 May 1887 it was elevated to a metropolis for the whole of New Zealand. From the diocese of W. the diocese of Dunedin (v.) was detached on 4 Oct. 1869, and on 10 May 1887 the diocese of Christchurch (v.).

It has an area of 84,950 sq. km. with a population of 600,000 inhabitants, of whom 73,725 are Catholics, including 6,866 Maori. Diocesan priests number 108, religious 114; brothers 72, sisters 810. Parishes 60; churches 134; ecclesiastical colleges 2; schools 114; hospitals 3; orphanages 3.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: P. Moran, Hist. of the Cath. Church in Australia, Sydney n. d., pp. 889-958; MC 1950, pp. 462-63; GM, pp. 340-341; Australasian Cath. Directory 1951, Sydney 1952, pp. 401-18.

Saverio Paventi

@incollection{ec12_wellington_arcidiocesi_di, author = {Paventi, Saverio}, title = {Wellington, arcidiocesi di}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XII}, pages = {1666}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1954}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/wellington-arcidiocesi-di} }

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Wellington, Archdiocese of

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