Why is New Zealand’s Auckland diocese growing?
Mass attendance has risen by 10% in a single year.
Editor’s note: Sorry, everyone. We had a slip-up in the backend of our system and this story was accidentally emailed to everyone We think it’s news, but maybe not that urgent…
New Zealand’s Auckland diocese unveiled some eye-catching statistics this week.
In a preface to the diocese’s latest annual report, Bishop Steve Lowe wrote that Mass attendance had risen by 10% between 2023 and 2024.
Five hundred people were received into the Church at Easter, a 13% increase from the previous year, and seven men were accepted to enter seminary at the start of 2025.
“Today we seem to be entering a period that is marked by people who are searching for the truth and love of Jesus Christ,” Lowe commented. “This is an exciting time to be part of the Church.”
What’s the background to the new statistics? And what are the possible reasons for the diocese’s growth?
What’s the background?
The Diocese of Auckland is a suffragan see of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Wellington, based in New Zealand’s capital city.
But the Auckland diocese is by far the most populous of the country’s dioceses. It serves more than 180,000 Catholics out of a total population of roughly 1.6 million. In comparison, the Wellington archdiocese ministers to around 80,000 Catholics out of a wider population of roughly half a million.
Approximately 40% of the nation’s Catholics live in the Auckland diocese. So trends in the diocese are significant for the whole Church in New Zealand, which dates back only to 1838.
The new report says that Sunday Mass attendance rose in the Auckland diocese from 36,842 in 2023 to 39,968 in 2024. This means that around 22% of local Catholics are Mass-goers.
But despite its growth, the diocese faces financial challenges. By the end of 2024, it was responsible for $187 million NZ dollars (around $113 million) in liabilities, up from $177 million NZ dollars ($107 million) the year before. The new annual report noted the diocese was reaching its “prudent maximum debt ceiling.”