Paul Gerard Martin S.M. (born 5 May 1967) is a New Zealand

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, who has been serving as the

coadjutor archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

since January 2021. From March 2018 until January 2021, he was the 10th Bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand and its

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

from January 2021 until May 2022.

Early life and education

Martin was born in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west a ...

, New Zealand. He is the son of Ronald and Carmel Martin, one of five children. He was educated at St Joseph's Primary School, Hastings, and undertook his secondary studies at St John's College.

Episcopacy

Bishop of Christchurch

On 5 December 2017, Martin was appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

to replace Barry Jones, the 9th bishop of Christchurch, who died on 13 February 2016. On 3 March 2018 he was consecrated as the 10th bishop of Christchurch, in a large gathering at Boy's High School Auditorium, Christchurch, by Cardinal John Dew, Archbishop of Wellington, bishop emeritus of Christchurch Basil Meeking and

Charles Drennan Charles Edward Drennan (born 23 August 1960 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand Bishop. He was the second Bishop of Palmerston North, New Zealand, from 2012 to 2019. On 4 October 2019 he resigned his position. Two allegations of ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. During his tenure as Bishop of Christchurch, the diocese saw restructuring of parishes. Many parishes were combined to create five 'super' parishes in Christchurch, as well as combining all churches in the Selwyn and Waimakariri Districts in their own parish. One of the decisions he faced as Bishop of Christchurch was the future of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, after it was severely damaged in the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, February 2011 and June 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. His predecessor, Barry Jones had suggested that the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

of the cathedral could be saved. In August 2019, Martin made the decision to demolish the cathedral. By September 2020, the demolition work began. In December 2019, Martin made public plans for a new cathedral site, Catholic primary school, hotels, offices and a carpark, all in community and commercial collaboration with Ōtākaro Limited, and city developers, Carter Group.

Archbishop Coadjutor of the Archdiocese of Wellington

On 1 January 2021, he was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Archdiocese of Wellington by Pope Francis.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Paul 1967 births People from Hastings, New Zealand Living people Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in New Zealand Roman Catholic bishops of Christchurch People educated at St John's College, Hastings