Max Mariu
Encyclopedia
Max Takuira Matthew Mariu SM
(12 August 1952 – 12 December 2005) was the Auxiliary Bishop of Hamilton, New Zealand
(1988–2005). He was the first Māori to be ordained a Catholic bishop.
was Ngāti Tūwharetoa
. He attended the Sisters of St Joseph convent school in Waihi Village and received his secondary education at Hato Paora College, Feilding
. He joined the Society of Mary
and studied for the priesthood at Mt St Mary's Seminary, Greenmeadows. He spent time at the Marist novitiate
at Highden in 1972. He was ordained to the priesthood on 30 April 1977 by Bishop Edward Russell Gaines
, Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland
. He did parish work in Napier
and Whangarei
and in Maori pastoral care at Pakipaki where he was superior of the Marist community. For three years he was on the staff of Hato Paora College (1980–1982).
on 30 January 1988 and was ordained a bishop on 19 May 1988 by Edward Russell Gaines, who had become Bishop of Hamilton, as principal consecrator, and with Cardinal Williams and Bishop Finau SM of Roman Catholic Diocese of Tonga
as co-consecrators. The ordination was a great ceremony combining Māori and Catholic ritual on the Catholic marae Te Papa o Te Aroha in Tokoroa
in the presence of 1,500 people.
Mariu was the first Māori to be ordained a Catholic bishop. Later in 1988, Bishop Mariu and Bishop Gaines
made their Ad Limina visit to Rome and met Pope John Paul II
. The Pope referred to Mariu as the Bambino Bishop because of his relative youth. In 2001 Te Runanga o te Hahi Katorika requested the establishment of a Catholic Māori Diocese and the appointment of a Māori ordinary
. This has not yet come about. On the death of Bishop Gaines on 6 September 1994, Mariu was named Diocesan Administrator while the process of selecting a new ordinary was begun. He administered the Diocese until Bishop Browne, until then Bishop of Auckland
, was installed as Bishop of Hamilton
on 27 March 1995. Mariu usually resided in Tokoroa after becoming bishop.
(1914–1994), the first Māori to be ordained a Catholic Priest.
at the request of Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, then to Hamilton's Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary where his body lay.
His body then lay at his home marae at Waihi Village
where he had been baptised 53 years earlier. On 15 December Bishop Browne, with eight other bishops including Bishop Stuart O'Connell SM of Rarotonga
, celebrated his official Requiem Mass in the Hamilton Cathedral. After another Requiem Mass at Waihi Village, Mariu was buried on 16 December 2005 in the urupa
at his family kainga (settlement), Otukou, on the shores of Lake Rotoaira
.
Society of Mary (Marists)
The Society of Mary , is a Roman Catholic religious congregation or order, founded by Father Jean-Claude Colin and a group of other seminarians in France in 1816...
(12 August 1952 – 12 December 2005) was the Auxiliary Bishop of Hamilton, New Zealand
Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand
The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. It was formed on 6 March 1980 from a portion of the territory in the Diocese of Auckland.-Ordinaries of Hamilton, New Zealand:...
(1988–2005). He was the first Māori to be ordained a Catholic bishop.
Early life
Mariu was born in Taumaranui in 1952 and his iwiIwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
was Ngāti Tūwharetoa
Ngati Tuwharetoa
Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua at Matata across the central plateau of the North Island to the lands around Mount Tongariro and Lake Taupo.The iwi is identified...
. He attended the Sisters of St Joseph convent school in Waihi Village and received his secondary education at Hato Paora College, Feilding
Hato Paora College
Hato Paora College is a Catholic, Māori Boys' Boarding school located near Cheltenham, Feilding, New Zealand. It was founded in 1947 under the leadership of Marist Priest, Isaac J Gupwell.-Notable Alumni:...
. He joined the Society of Mary
Society of Mary (Marists)
The Society of Mary , is a Roman Catholic religious congregation or order, founded by Father Jean-Claude Colin and a group of other seminarians in France in 1816...
and studied for the priesthood at Mt St Mary's Seminary, Greenmeadows. He spent time at the Marist novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
at Highden in 1972. He was ordained to the priesthood on 30 April 1977 by Bishop Edward Russell Gaines
Edward Russell Gaines
Most Reverend Edward Russell Gaines, DD was the Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland and was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand ....
, Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland
Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland
The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Auckland is one of the two original dioceses in New Zealand. Although formally a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Wellington, both were erected on 20 June 1848...
. He did parish work in Napier
Napier
-People:* Napier * John Napier -Australia:* Electoral district of Napier, a state electoral district in South Australia* Mount Napier, a dormant volcano in Victoria...
and Whangarei
Whangarei
Whangarei, pronounced , is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although commonly classified as a city, it is officially part of the Whangarei District, administered by the Whangarei District Council a local body created in 1989 to administer both the...
and in Maori pastoral care at Pakipaki where he was superior of the Marist community. For three years he was on the staff of Hato Paora College (1980–1982).
Episcopacy
Beginning in 1981, Te Hahi Katorika ki Aotearoa, the national Catholic Māori body, supported by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference, lobbied for seven years for a Māori bishop. Despite their preference for a personal prelature with specific responsibility for Māori, Mariu was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of Hamilton by Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
on 30 January 1988 and was ordained a bishop on 19 May 1988 by Edward Russell Gaines, who had become Bishop of Hamilton, as principal consecrator, and with Cardinal Williams and Bishop Finau SM of Roman Catholic Diocese of Tonga
Roman Catholic Diocese of Tonga
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tonga in Tonga is immediately subject to the Holy See. It was erected as the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Oceania in 1842, had subsequent name changes in 1937 and 1957 and was elevated to the Diocese of Tonga in 1966....
as co-consecrators. The ordination was a great ceremony combining Māori and Catholic ritual on the Catholic marae Te Papa o Te Aroha in Tokoroa
Tokoroa
Tokoroa is the third-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato district. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the Mamaku Ranges, it is mid-way between Taupo and Hamilton on State Highway One...
in the presence of 1,500 people.
Mariu was the first Māori to be ordained a Catholic bishop. Later in 1988, Bishop Mariu and Bishop Gaines
Edward Russell Gaines
Most Reverend Edward Russell Gaines, DD was the Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland and was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand ....
made their Ad Limina visit to Rome and met Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. The Pope referred to Mariu as the Bambino Bishop because of his relative youth. In 2001 Te Runanga o te Hahi Katorika requested the establishment of a Catholic Māori Diocese and the appointment of a Māori ordinary
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
. This has not yet come about. On the death of Bishop Gaines on 6 September 1994, Mariu was named Diocesan Administrator while the process of selecting a new ordinary was begun. He administered the Diocese until Bishop Browne, until then Bishop of Auckland
Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland
The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Auckland is one of the two original dioceses in New Zealand. Although formally a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Wellington, both were erected on 20 June 1848...
, was installed as Bishop of Hamilton
Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand
The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. It was formed on 6 March 1980 from a portion of the territory in the Diocese of Auckland.-Ordinaries of Hamilton, New Zealand:...
on 27 March 1995. Mariu usually resided in Tokoroa after becoming bishop.
Writer
Mariu was a biographer of Wiremu Te Awhitu SMWiremu Te Awhitu
Wiremu Hakopa Toa Te Awhitu was the first Māori to be ordained a Roman Catholic priest.Born at Okahukura near Taumarunui, he was the third of 10 children of Tamakaitoa Te Awhitu and his wife Katarina Toia Bell. His family belonged to the Ngāti Hauaroa and Ngāti Maniapoto iwi. His early education...
(1914–1994), the first Māori to be ordained a Catholic Priest.
Death
Mariu died in Auckland on 12 December 2005 at the age of 53. having suffered from coronary problems for some years, beginning when he was in training at Greenmeadows seminary. He was taken to Turangawaewae Marae in NgaruawahiaNgaruawahia
Ngāruawāhia is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 km north-west of Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipa Rivers...
at the request of Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, then to Hamilton's Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary where his body lay.
His body then lay at his home marae at Waihi Village
Waihi Village
Waihi Village, also known as Little Waihi, is a small Māori community of around 25 households. on the southwestern shores of Lake Taupo seven kilometres northwest of Turangi, New Zealand. It has been the site of three major landslides, in 1910, 1846 and around 1780, which killed over 200 people in...
where he had been baptised 53 years earlier. On 15 December Bishop Browne, with eight other bishops including Bishop Stuart O'Connell SM of Rarotonga
Stuart O'Connell
Stuart France O'Connell SM was the fifth Catholic Bishop of Rarotonga .-Early life:O'Connell was born on 11 May 1935 in Lower Hutt. He completed his education at St. Patrick's College, Silverstream in 1953 and in 1954 entered Mount St Mary’s Seminary...
, celebrated his official Requiem Mass in the Hamilton Cathedral. After another Requiem Mass at Waihi Village, Mariu was buried on 16 December 2005 in the urupa
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
at his family kainga (settlement), Otukou, on the shores of Lake Rotoaira
Lake Rotoaira
Lake Rotoaira is a small lake to the south of Lake Taupo on the North Island Volcanic Plateau in New Zealand. It covers an area of 13 km²....
.