Visiting Clergy

Visiting Priests and Deacons – permission to minister in New Zealand

The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand welcomes priests and deacons visiting from overseas. We are committed to ensuring a safe Church and we thank you for complying with the expectations below in relation to your visit.

If you are a non-New Zealand or New Zealand citizen living overseas and intend to present yourself as a cleric or religious, or offer any form of ministry, while visiting New Zealand, you must adhere to the Safeguarding norms of the Catholic Church in New Zealand.

How to apply

Please submit the following documentation to the Local Ordinary of the first Diocese in New Zealand where you intend to stay:

• The New Zealand Individual Safeguarding Declaration and Disclosure form - click the link to download a Word version of the form

and

• The Church Authority Safeguarding Declaration and Disclosure completed by your Bishop, Provincial or Superior on his/her letterhead.

Where possible, email completed forms to the Bishop's Executive Assistant at least two weeks prior to your arrival. Please advise in your cover email if there are exceptional circumstances, such as a funeral, where your application needs to be processed under urgency.

The necessary permissions must be obtained before you arrive in New Zealand. You should not presume that permission will be given. It is important that you do not present yourself as a cleric or provide any form of public ministry in New Zealand prior to receiving written authorisation from the Local Ordinary.

If the Local Ordinary is satisfied with your application, they will grant ‘Permission to Minister in New Zealand for a Visiting Cleric’ stating what you are able to do.  This permission will be recorded in writing and a copy sent to each Diocese you intend to visit.

When offering ministry (including concelebration) in any parish in New Zealand, the celebret (or equivalent) and ‘Permission to Minister in New Zealand for a Visiting Cleric’ must be shown to the parish and details recorded in the parish visitor book.

If you have any questions, please contact Anastasia Brown.