Tegucigalpa, 27 July 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“You multiplied joy, you increased joy” (Is 9:2).

At this moment of joy in the Lord when my appointment as Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand is announced, I wish to greet each of you with sincere affection.

I am very grateful to Divine Providence and to the Holy Father Pope Francis for the trust with which I have been chosen for this new apostolic mission among you.

I would like to address a special affectionate greeting to His Excellency The Most Reverend Stephen Marmion Lowe, Bishop of Auckland, President of the NZCBC, and to His Excellency The Most Reverend Ryan Pagente Jimenez, Archbishop elect of Agaña, President of the C.E.PAC., as well as to the dear brother bishops, priests, religious men and religious women and faithful all.

I greet you and thank you from now on for the generosity with which you give your lives every day to the Lord and the Church at the service of your people. You are the chosen and beloved people of God who make the Church alive and present in every corner of those beautiful islands, being witnesses of hope in the midst of joys and trials.

I would like that my greeting could reach all families, young people, apostolic movements and communities. You are the hope of our Church and the world.

I also send my greetings and my prayers to the elderly, the sick and those who feel abandoned. You are a gift and a very important human and faith resource for all of us and we carry you in our hearts.

The motto of my service as Archbishop and as Apostolic Nuncio is “Gaudium et Spes”, “Joy and Hope”, title of the Pastoral Constitution of the Second Vatican Council on the relationship of the Church with society and the world today. In that sense, my program in service with you is to share “the joys and hopes, the sadness and anxieties of the men of our time, especially the poor and those who suffer,” since they are “both joys and hopes, sadness and anguish of the disciples of Christ” (GS 1), knowing that the Gospel of the Lord guides us in every difficulty.

I prepare with that confidence to arrive in Wellington as one of you, hoping to become a good “kiwi” among you sharing your rich cultural values.

I convey to you the affectionate greetings and blessing of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who closely follows the progress as well as the needs of your beloved nations.

I ask for the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the beginning of my service among you, also sincerely begging you for your prayers, while I appreciatively impart to you my blessing.

 

+Archbishop Gábor Pintér

Apostolic Nuncio