In his thanksgiving speech at the end of his ordination Mass, Bishop Gielen recalled his struggles as a young boy and how having Jesus in his life made all the difference.

“I remember as a seven-year-old, standing on our farm and wondering what life was all about. I had asthma, chronic asthma all year. I had had two weeks of injections. I was struggling at school. And I remember an emptiness deep inside and a lack of meaning in my life,” he said.

“A year later, all that changed. We started going back to Mass as a family. It was like rivers, fresh springs of living water, flowing within us, slowly changing us. And as a little boy, I noticed it.”

These “fresh springs of water” carried him through to his ordination as auxiliary bishop on March 7, at the Vodafone Events Centre in south Auckland, with 3000 people at the ordination Mass.

Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn was brimming with joy at having an auxiliary bishop.

Hamilton Bishop Stephen Lowe was saddened at the loss of a good priest.

“The diocese of Hamilton is delighted for Bishop Michael, but it’s a sad loss for us. We wish him every blessing in his ministry up here. He’s been an awesome priest in Hamilton and we’re sure he’ll be an awesome bishop in Auckland,” Bishop Lowe said.

Bishop Gielen thanked his mum, Maureen, and dad, Deacon Henk Gielen and members of his “precious family” who had given him love and support. Deacon Gielen was the deacon at the ordination Mass.

Other bishops who were present at the ordination included Wellington Cardinal John Dew, Dunedin Bishop Michael Dooley, Bishop Colin Campbell, Bishop Basil Meeking, Bishop Peter Cullinane, Bishop Owen Dolan, Bishop Denis Browne, as well as Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Richard Umbers.

Waka faith journey

Bishop Gielen likened his faith journey to that of a waka travelling on rivers.

“[My family] went further upriver, to the land flowing with milk and honey . . . and trees, Tokoroa,” he said to the laughter of the crowd.

“It is there I learned how to be a Christian. It is there I was taught how . . . to move from a lamb to one of God’s sheep. I was loved and encouraged,” he said in a more serious vein.

He said the church in Tokoroa was a simple, rectangular, 1950s church.

“It’s not until you go inside, and this is true of our Catholic faith as well, it’s not until you enter that you really experience the beauty of the Church,” he said.

He recalled having his first communion, confirmation and eventually, his priestly ordination at that church.

“I was ordained a priest there by Bishop Max Mariu, and if I’m correct, I was the only one ordained by Bishop Max Mariu,” he said. “Thank you, Bishop Denis (Browne), for making that possible.”

He served in parishes in the East Coast, Waikato, North Waikato and Raglan. “You formed me and carved me and beat me into the man that I’ve become today, into a shepherd. And I thank you for that, each of you,” he said.

He went to Rome for training and came back as formator for Holy Cross Seminary. “[I was . . .] to teach these seminarians, or to be formed by them or to form them. I’m never sure which way it goes,” he said.

Now, his waka is setting off for Auckland.

“I have good news. Whether you are seven or seventy, Jesus loves you. Jesus will never leave you alone. Jesus has amazing things in life for you, whatever your age is, if you trust him and ask him into your life, like my family did. It’s amazing what he can do when we say, ‘yes’. Thank you for your ‘yes’ and let us travel together in our waka wherever God leads us,” he said.

Just be yourself

Bishop Dunn, in his homily, gave the 48-year-old new bishop one piece of advice.

“Just be yourself. You don’t have to be a clone of anyone else. ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.’ God sees gifts he’s entrusted to you and all he asks, and you know this, is just to use them. Not with a spirit of timidity, but with a spirit of power, love and self-control,” Bishop Dunn said.

Speaking on the first and second readings chosen by Bishop Gielen for the ordination (Jeremiah 1:4-9 and 1 Timothy 1:6-14), Bishop Dunn noted how both the prophet Jeremiah and St Paul’s follower, Timothy, were young men.

“Jeremiah said, ‘I’m too young. I’m not qualified. There are other people better equipped. Haven’t got the right training.’ And God says, ‘just go. Get moving!’,” Bishop Dunn said. “I’m sure he said those words to Michael today. But he says them to all of us, too.”

Bishop Michael Gielen with students from St Joseph’s Catholic School, Pukekohe, after his ordination Mass.

Bishop Dunn said St Paul also told Timothy not to let people put him (Timothy) down because of his (Timothy’s) youth and lack of experience.

“He (St Paul) said, ‘Timothy, when I laid hands on you . . . which we say now to serve as a priest or a bishop . . . you didn’t receive a spirit of timidity. You received the spirit of power and love and self-control’,” Bishop Dunn said.

“(What) . . . Paul says to Timothy, he’s saying to Michael today . . . But he says it to us, too! When you were baptised, when you were confirmed, it wasn’t with a spirit of timidity. It was a spirit of power, love and self-control,” Bishop Dunn explained.

The Gospel reading, often called the Peter chapter, was about Jesus asking Peter if Peter loved him (Jesus).

“Jesus meets Peter and he (Jesus) doesn’t say, Peter, how could you screw up so much? Peter, what did you not understand? Peter, when will you ever learn to listen before you talk? He (Jesus) asks the only question that matters. He says, Peter, do you love me? Three times. Poor old Peter,” Bishop Dunn said.

“(Peter) . . . said, you know I do. And so, the fisherman is commissioned as a shepherd. Michael, we know that you love Jesus. I love your motto, Totus Tuus, all yours,” Bishop Dunn said. “We welcome you as a new bishop in the college of bishops. We certainly, I certainly, welcome you as a new bishop in Auckland.”

Pope’s letter

Deputy head of mission and first secretary at the Apostolic Nunciature in Wellington Msgr Edward Karaan read the papal bull at the ordination in the place of Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa, who went into self-isolatation after a brief trip to Italy.

In the letter to Bishop Gielen, Pope Francis said he has given in to the request of Bishop Dunn to appoint “an auxiliary bishop in order to more fittingly provide for the pastoral needs of the community”.

“Dear son, it seems fitting that this office be entrusted to you, for the necessary strength of reason and character and skills in pastoral matters have clearly been observed in you,” the Pope wrote.

The Pope urged Bishop Gielen to serve the people eagerly and act faithfully in his (Bishop Gielen’s) new ministry.

Reactions from the people at the ordination Mass

Tony and Jan Baker, Mt Maunganui: “Amazing, a special man, very spiritual, atmosphere amazing! We left at 6:30am this morning, in a big bus with 36 people.”

(Left) Airini Turner, Herne Bay/ Ponsonby: “Breath-taking, amazing, awesome, all those adjectives. The decision to have it here was absolutely right. Like Bishop Pat, a peoples’ bishop.” Taumi Hau, Herne Bay/ Ponsonby: “The whole thing was very holy. It was best to have it here. He’s such a hard case — better suited here in Auckland. The mix of people that came — of all the ethnicities, from the little babies to the older babies.”

Josephine Bartley, Glen Innes/ Panmure: “Felt really, really special to me, once in a lifetime. It helped me relive [a] Catholic upbringing, sitting in a Catholic school again but it [was] not ‘like this’ sitting in Mass. I’ve never been [at] Mass with 3000 before, I love the acknowledgement of Māori Tangata Whenua, of Pasifika or Samoa and Tonga.

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Newly-appointed Te Kupenga chief executive Dr Areti Metuamate said he is looking at how to engage Māori and Pasifika people, in particular, who are “often the most under-represented in educational institutions”.

“What I’m really going to be working on is to try to think of ways that our courses and that our teachers can be connecting to communities beyond the communities we are connecting to,” he told NZ Catholic.

“For example, we have a number of courses that are taught online. What are we doing to go out and ensure that people in remote parts of New Zealand know about those courses?”

Te Kupenga was formed on January 1 in a merger of Good Shepherd College and The Catholic Institute of Aotearoa New Zealand. It has three operating units — Catholic Theological College (for tertiary courses and qualifications), National Centre for Religious Studies and the Nathaniel Centre for Catholic bioethics.

New Zealand’s Catholic bishops expect the new institute to play a vital role in training, educating and forming Catholic seminarians and lay leaders.

Dr Metuamate said that, to increase the number of students, they will be “going out to communities and talking to people in their communities. And that we don’t seem like some foreign organisation that’s only on a website or that’s only in a brochure”.

This means going to secondary schools, meeting with careers advisors and talking to year 12 students about the courses Te Kupenga provides and the possibility of priesthood.

“It’s just about getting out there and talking to young people about options available to them. When I was in school . . . no one ever came to us to talk about the possibility of being a priest. Sometimes, people just need to hear about an idea, plant that seed and they go away and think about it,” he said.

Dr Metuamate stressed, though, that Te Kupenga is not just for those preparing for priesthood.

“[Te Kupenga] is for anyone who’s in the Church and actually, people outside the Church who want to learn about what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be Catholic, what it means to have a faith. There are courses for all those people, too,” he said.

Dr Metuamate was given a Mihi Whakatau (formal welcome) at the formerly Good Shepherd College site in Ponsonby, Auckland on February 21.

Dr Metuamate said he was glad to see Manuel Beazley, Vicar for Māori in Auckland diocese, in a leadership role in the Church because “the leadership of the Church needs to reflect the people of the Church”.

“I’m really keen to see our organisation reach out more to Māori and Pasifika people, and Asian New Zealanders as well, because there are large numbers of those peoples and they are not as engaged as they should be,” he said. “And sometimes, that is because it’s hard for them to see a role for themselves as leaders in the Church.”

He also met then Bishop-elect Michael Gielen, who was the celebrant at the Mass for the opening of the academic year. Bishop Gielen was ordained auxiliary bishop on March 7, 2020.

“[Bishop-elect Gielen] is the sort of person who is the future of our Church, a person who is connected to young people,” Dr Metuamate noted.

Beginning and End

Bishop Gielen said being at the opening Mass of Te Kupenga feels like a beginning and an end for him.

“It feels like the end of a journey for me. This would be [the] sixteenth Academic Mass for me. It feels like a bit of a farewell,” he said as he thanked the staff and the students for their support over the years.

“I assure you of my prayers as I launch out on my waka to the different parts the Lord has in store for me in the Auckland area.”

In his homily, he referred to the Gospel reading (Mark 8:34 – 9:1), saying everyone is called to give their best for their faith.

“We are all called to these same words that Jesus has given us today. We are asked to give our best. There are no shortcuts, no easy options, no comfortable roads, no computer programmes or secret passwords,” he said. “We have to step out . . . not just flock at the finish line, but reach there with a renewed sense of faith and vigour.”

Bishop Gielen said St Peter did not want to bear the cross of Jesus when he (St Peter) denied Jesus three times.

The bishop then contrasted this with St John Henry Newman who “took the hard road” when leaving the Anglican communion. St John was pretty much rejected by his community.

“Even his family and friends struggled [and] misunderstood what he was doing,” Bishop Gielen added.

But St John went on to establish the Catholic University of Ireland, now University College, Dublin.

“St Peter and St John Henry Newman were faced with a choice: save their lives or lose their lives. Live according to their own limits or take risks and live by Jesus’ limits. We, too, are faced with the same choice,” he said.

“Give your best. Lose your life. You’ll never regret it.”

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