Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard appointed Sisters of Compassion co-chief executive

Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard reading a message and blessing from Pope Francis in Napier in 2017. Photo / NZME

Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard has been appointed co-chief executive of the Sisters of Compassion Group.

The group is the religious order founded by Meri Hōhepa Suzanne Aubert, and Karatea-Goddard will join Dr Chris Gallavin, appointed March last year, in the shared chief executive position.

Karatea-Goddard has been Māori adviser with the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and Vicar for Māori with the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington.

Sister Margaret Anne Mills, of the Sisters of Compassion, said the appointment would build on Aubert's bicultural work with Māori, especially at Jerusalem on the Whanganui River in the 1880s.

"Our multicultural reality is only made real and will only be successful if we understand our bicultural foundation.

"We hold that the work of Meri Hōhepa Suzanne Aubert is of pivotal importance in our journey toward true partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is an expression of our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi."

Karatea-Goddard said his appointment was particularly personal.

"A number of my aunties, my children and I have been recipients of the mission of Meri Hōhepa Suzanne Aubert.

"To be able to serve the Sisters of Compassion whānau is a privilege, and I am excited to join them as we explore deepening our commitment to biculturalism as we move into a new future in these uncertain times."

A pōwhiri for Karatea-Goddard will be held on Monday, May 23, in Hiruhārama Jerusalem.