Tūhono Whakapono—Together, one faith community

The National Catholic Education Convention was held at the TSB Arena in Wellington from Wednesday 19 June through to Friday 21 June. Due to the pandemic, this was our first convention for six years and the response was indicative of a sector who wanted to come together in fellowship after such a long period where we could not gather. There were approximately 700 in attendance from across the Catholic education sector in Aotearoa including all of our bishops, a number of priests and religious, principals, DRS, staff (and in some cases students) representing the 235 Catholic schools in NZ, diocesan staff and parishioners and of course our international and national keynote speakers as well as our local ‘experts’ who presented twenty three different seminars across the three days.

For more information visit the New Zealand Catholic Education Convention 2024 website here >>

New Zealand Keynote Addresses

Manuel Beazley is the Vicar for Māori in the diocese of Auckland. He sits on the diocesan Lead Team and the NZCBC Rōpū Māori. The role of the Vicar for Māori is to be a link between the bishop and the Māori Catholic faithful in the diocese; to provide pastoral care to the Māori Catholic community of the diocese; to support parishes, schools and other faith communities of the diocese to develop their ministry to and with Māori and to support diocesan departments and agencies. The previous two Vicars for Māori, Pā Henare Tate and Pā Anthony Brown, are Manuel’s uncles – so it’s a family business! Manuel has nearly 25 years of ministry experience in the diocese, having served as Director for Catholic Youth Ministry for the Diocese and Pastoral Assistant for the parish of St John the Evangelist in Ōtara. Manuel has governance experience on Marae boards, school boards and NGO’s. Manuel is married to Pata who is the DRS at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Onehunga. They have 1 adult daughter and 1 granddaughter. Manuel’s favourite ways to unwind are to cook (and to eat) and to travel – anywhere on a plane. For ten years prior to the pandemic Manuel and Pata were leading pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Christian shrines in Europe. They have taken over 300 people on pilgrimages through the years.

Before becoming Executive Director of Maxim, Tim Wilson was an award-winning journalist working in print, radio and television. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian and Newsweek.com. He was TVNZ’s first US Correspondent and has been a business development manager and an English teacher. Tim has written three novels, one of which—Their Faces Were Shining—was a finalist in the New Zealand Post Book Awards. He is married to Rachel; they have four sons: Roman, Felix, Wilfred, and Otto.

International Keynote Addresses

Dr. Sandra Cullen is Associate Professor of Religious Education and Head of the School of Human Development at Dublin City University. She teaches a variety of modules under the broad headings of religious education and pastoral ministry at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and supervises PhD research in religious education and related areas. As Director of the ICRE (Irish Centre for Religious Education), Sandra has a public profile in engagement with policy developments in RE, supporting teaching and learning in RE in a variety of contexts, and building international research networks. She has been keynote speaker at a number of national and international conferences and symposia. Sandra serves as a Trustee of CEIST (Catholic Education in Schools Trust) and has recently completed her term of office on the Catholic Education Services Committee, a committee of the Irish Episcopal Conference. Sandra is a Board Member of EFTRE (European Forum for Teachers of Religious Education) and is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Religious Education.

Joe Paprocki, DMin, the National Consultant for Faith Formation for Loyola Press, has been in pastoral ministry for over 40 years, has authored over 20 books (including his most recent, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith), and presented in over 150 dioceses in North America. Joe received his Masters Degree from the Institute of Pastoral Studies (Loyola University of Chicago) and his Doctor of Ministry Degree from the University of St. Mary of the Lake (Mundelein Seminary). Joe blogs about his catechetical experiences and insights at www.catechistsjourney.com

Certification hours for teachers

Below are downloadable versions of the Credit Hours Application, and the Credit Hours Allocations.

2024 New Zealand Catholic Education Convention Credit Hours Application

2024 New Zealand Catholic Education Convention Credit Hours Allocations