Stephen Lowe (bishop of Auckland)

Stephen Marmion Lowe (born 3 August 1962) is a New Zealand prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. On 18 December 2021, Pope Francis appointed him as the twelfth Bishop of Auckland, succeeding Bishop Patrick Dunn. From 2015 until his Auckland appointment, he was the Bishop of Hamilton, New Zealand. [1][2]

The Most Reverend

Stephen Lowe
ArchdioceseArchdiocese of Wellington
DioceseDiocese of Auckland
Installed17 December 2021
PredecessorPatrick Dunn
Orders
Ordination7 June 1996
Consecration13 February 2015
by Denis Browne, Barry Jones and Charles Drennan
Personal details
Born
Stephen Marmion Lowe

(1962-08-03) 3 August 1962
Hokitika, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealander
DenominationRoman Catholic Church
Occupationpreviously, Bishop of Hamilton (2015–2021)
ProfessionCleric
Alma materHoly Cross Seminary, Mosgiel, New Zealand
Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome

Early life and education

Lowe was born in Hokitika, the youngest child of Milly and Frank Lowe, with two older sisters Margaret and Dorothy. He was educated at Hokitika Primary School, then St Mary's Primary School, Hokitika. He undertook his secondary studies at Westland High School.[3]

Following school he worked for the NZ Forest Service in Hokitika and Christchurch and the NZ Timberlands in Timaru. During this time he became involved in his local parish in Timaru North where he was involved in a young adults group and with youth in the parish. In 1989 he discerned the call to priesthood. He attended Holy Cross College in Mosgiel and then the St Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States).[3]

Ordained ministry

Lowe was ordained a priest on 7 June 1996, in Hokitika for the Diocese of Christchurch and served as the assistant priest in Mairehau, Ashburton and Greymouth parishes before being appointed parish priest of Timaru North and Chaplain of Roncalli College in 2000. During the years 2005–2007 he completed a Licenciate in Spiritual Theology in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University.[4][5][6][7]

From 2008 until October 2014, Lowe was the director of formation at the National Seminary, Holy Cross College in Ponsonby, Auckland. While based at the seminary in Auckland, he served, for a time, as Parish Priest of Ponsonby.[4][8]

Episcopal ministry – Hamilton

On 22 November 2014, Lowe was appointed by Pope Francis to replace Denis Browne, the 2nd Bishop of Hamiton, whose resignation was accepted on the same date. His consecration as a bishop took place at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hamilton, on 13 February 2015. His principal consecrator was his predecessor, Denis Browne. The principal co-consecrators were Bishop Barry Jones of Christchurch and Bishop Charles Drennan of Palmerston North.[7][9][10]

In 2021, Lowe was the Vice President and Secretary of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference, and the bishops’ representative on Te Rūnanga o te Hāhi Katorika ō Aotearoa, the Church’s national Māori advisory group. He was also a member of several other bodies including the National Safeguarding and Professional Standards Committee.[2]

Bishop of Auckland

Lowe was appointed as the twelfth Bishop of Auckland on 17 December 2021, and installed on Saturday 19 February 2022.[1]

References
  1. Bishop Lowe is the new bishop of Auckland, NZ Catholic, 18 December 2021 (Retrieved 18 December 2021)
  2. "Bishop Stephen Lowe appointed Catholic Bishop of Auckland", New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, 18 December 2021 (Retrieved 20 December 2021),
  3. "Bishop Stephen Lowe consecrated and installed as Bishop of Hamilton". Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  4. Michael Field, "New Bishop of Hamilton named", Stuff News (Retrieved 27 November 2014)
  5. "Pope Francis Appoints New Bishop of Hamilton", NZ Catholic (Retrieved 27 November 2014)
  6. "New Bishop Announced for the Diocese of Hamilton", Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, 24 November 2014 Archived 6 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 27 November 2014)
  7. "Bishop Stephen Marmion Lowe", Catholic Hierarchy (Retrieved 27 November 2014)
  8. "About us", Holy Cross College Archived 13 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 27 November 2014)
  9. Peter Grace, "Bishop-elect comes north", NZ Catholic, 30 November – 13 December 2014, No. 454, p. 1.
  10. Kerr, Florence (14 February 2015). "City's new Bishop welcomed". Waikato Times. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
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