Appointed 30 October 1979 Name Thomas Williams Ordination December 20, 1959 Installed 20 December 1979 Role Archbishop of Wellington Consecration December 20, 1979 | Term ended 21 March 2005 Successor John Dew Archdiocese Wellington Rank Cardinal-Priest Predecessor Reginald Delargey | |
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Other posts Cardinal-Priest of Gesu Divin Maestro alla Pineta Sacchetti Created Cardinal 2 February 1983
by John Paul II Books A Kiwi Cardinal's Chronicles: Memoirs of Cardinal Thomas Williams, D.D. ONZ Archbishop Emeritus of Wellington | ||
Thomas Stafford Williams ONZ ChStJ (born 20 March 1930) is a cardinal in the Catholic church and before his retirement in 2005 the fifth Archbishop of Wellington.
Contents
- Early life and education
- Priesthood
- Church leader
- Moral campaigns
- Conclave and retirement
- Selected works
- References
Early life and education
Williams was born in Wellington, New Zealand and educated at Holy Cross Primary School, Seatoun; SS Peter and Paul School, Lower Hutt; St. Patrick's College, Wellington; and St. Kevin's College, Oamaru. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Victoria University, Wellington, and worked for some years as an accountant. During his studies, he was deeply involved in the Catholic Youth Movement (YCW) and for a period worked full-time for the movement. In 1954 he commenced studies for the priesthood at the National Seminary, Holy Cross College, Mosgiel, Dunedin.
In 1956 he was sent to the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in theology and was ordained a priest on 20 December 1959. Later he received a social sciences degree from University College Dublin.
Priesthood
Returning to Wellington, he served as assistant pastor and as Director of Studies at the Catholic Enquiry Centre. He left that post when he volunteered to serve as a missionary in Samoa (today the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia), where he was parish priest for 5 years. He returned to New Zealand in 1963 and became parish priest at St. Patrick's in Palmerston North for two years. This was followed by four years as Director of the Catholic Enquiry Centre in Wellington. In 1971 he moved to Leulumoega, Samoa and returned to New Zealand in 1976 to the Holy Family Parish in Porirua East, one of the Archdiocese's most multi-cultural parishes.
Church leader
He became Archbishop of Wellington on 20 December 1979 – his 20th anniversary of priestly ordination – following the death of Reginald Cardinal Delargey. His principal consecrator was Owen Snedden, long-term Auxiliary Bishop of Wellington. Williams was created Cardinal-Priest of the titular church of Jesus the Divine Teacher at Pineta Sacchetti by Pope John Paul II on 2 February 1983.
He was additionally appointed Military Ordinary in 1995. He received New Zealand's highest honour, the Order of New Zealand in 2000.
Moral campaigns
He campaigned strongly against the passage of the law allowing civil unions in New Zealand saying it would turn New Zealand into a "moral wasteland". He also campaigned against the expansion of casinos.
Conclave and retirement
Williams was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. He resigned as Archbishop of Wellingon on 21 March 2005 having reached the age of 75 years and was succeeded by the then Coadjutor Archbishop, John Atcherley Dew.