Resignations from senior Church positions

Two people in senior leadership positions in the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand resigned recently. 

The rector of Holy Cross Seminary in Auckland, Fr Mathew Vadakkevettuvazhiyil has resigned, NZ Catholic understands.  

And the executive officer for the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, Siobhan Dilly, has also resigned. Her position is being advertised in this issue of NZ Catholic. 

Fr Vadakkevettuvazhiyil was appointed rector in January, 2021. He succeeded the previous rector, Fr Brendan Ward, at the end of 2021. 

The appointment was confirmed at the time by the then-Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.  

Fr Vadakkevettuvazhiyil was born in Kerala, India in 1960 and was ordained a priest there in 1992 with the Society of St Francis de Sales (Salesians of Don Bosco). More recently, he was incardinated as a diocesan priest in Auckland diocese and had also worked in parishes. 

NZ Catholic understands that it is being communicated that Fr Vadakkevettuvazhiyil greatly enjoyed formation work with seminarians, but found the administrative aspect of his role too burdensome. 

Ms Dilly came to the NZCBC from a management role at the New Zealand Catholic Education Office.  

When her appointment was announced, she said “I’m delighted to be coming into this role and contributing at a national level with a highly respected organisation within the Catholic Church”.