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First Maori Bishop Consecrated in NZ

Pacific church elders

By Jack Kelleher

THE TIMBER industry town, in a clearing of the great pine forest of New Zealand’s North Island, had never seen such a gathering of princes of the church. Its experience of Pacific is landers was as mill workers. Now Tokoroa was putting down its version of a red car pet, as island and other Catholic dignitar ies gathered for the consecration of the church’s first Maori bishop. Max Takuira Mariu.

The ceremony might have been held at Little Waihi, on the thermal shore of Lake Taupo where Max grew up, or at Hawke’s Bay where he’d been working as a priest.

Tokoroa, north of Taupo and west of Hawke’s Bay, was chosen for its tribal neu trality: its Papa O Te Aroha marae is known as the home of all tribes.

In stately procession, before 5000 watchers, came the burly agriculturist for his people Cardinal Pio Taofi Nu’u of Sa moa and the Tokelaus; charismatic and el derly Bishop Patrick Hurley of Western Samoa; Archbishop of Fiji Petero Mataca; Bishop Loft of Auki in the Solomons; Bishop Patelisio Finau of Tonga; Bishop Michel Coppenrath of Tahiti.

Because the new bishop was a member of the French-originating, teacher-ori ented Society of Mary, so too were many of the prelates and guests including Father John Foliaki, representing the so ciety’s Province of Oceania. Minister Ko rowetere represented the New Zealand Government. After Cardinal Tom Wil liams of New Zealand, Bishop Finau and the Bishop of Hamilton, Edward Gaines, performed the ceremony, the island prel ates joined in endorsing the ordination.

While boys of the new bishop’s old col lege, Hato Paora at Feilding, sang and 10 of New Zealand’s 11 other Maori priests stood by, the new bishop, clad in a Maori cloak, and with tears on his face, con fronted his parents, Mary and Maihi Mariu. “I must take to heart the words, the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,” he said.

Aged 35, the fourth of eight children, he is descended from the earliest Maori Catholics (from Kerehi, in the late 1840 s the first Catholic in Ngati Tuwharetoa). He was ordained a priest in 1971 and under went open heart surgery two years later yet he managed to carry on with his fa vourite recreations of tennis and golf.

On Easter Monday he left for Rome, for a congress and to meet Pope John Paul 11.

When he returns it will be as Auxiliary Bishop to the Diocese of Hamilton, prob ably based at Tokoroa. □