Māori priest ordained on significant day for Marists

Fr Ropata was ordained at St Benedict’s in Newton, Auckland, on November 15, which was the 150th anniversary of the death of the founder of the Marists, Fr Jean-Claude Colin.

Originally from Auckland, with family connections to Ōtaki and the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Hemi Ropata was raised in an Anglican family and was shaped by searching in other churches.

He eventually entered the RCIA programme at St Patrick’s Cathedral in 2013. After his reception into the Catholic Church, he prayed with gratitude: “I don’t know what you’ve done, but I’m willing to do whatever you ask.” 

This led to service and ministry at St Benedict’s Parish among the quiet work of cleaning floors and preparing candles. It was during Mass one day that the call deepened: as he watched the priest at the altar, he sensed a quiet inner voice saying “You could do that”.

He worked at the University of Auckland before entering the Marist Seminary. His vocational journey has brought together his Māori heritage, his theological formation in Aotearoa New Zealand and his international Marist experience and studies in Rome over eight years.

His formation began in 2018 at Te Kupenga – Catholic Theological College, followed by a special novitiate year in the Philippines. He then moved to the Marist International House of Formation in Rome and, after completing a baccalaureate in sacred theology at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), he started a licentiate in canon law. In August this year, he returned to New Zealand and began ministry with the Marist community and parish apostolates in Napier.

At the ordination on November 15, after his vesting in priestly garments, Fr Ropata was honoured by his whānau, who placed upon him a treasured taonga – a korowai cloak – and offered waiata and haka in support of his new ministry.

In the homily at the ordination Mass, Bishop Steve Lowe reflected on the call of the prophet Jeremiah and drew a parallel with Fr Ropata’s own journey of hearing God’s invitation.

Bishop Lowe said that, as a priest of the Society of Mary and of the Church, Fr Ropata was being asked to be “obedient to the Father, open to the Holy Spirit, holding the Son of God in your heart and being docile to the movement of God, after the example of Mary”.

Bishop Lowe told Fr Ropata that Fr Colin had “the vision of a Marist family that worked in the world amidst times of turmoil and challenge”, and “this must be your vision”.

What is celebrated at the altar must be lived in the world, especially among those who are poor and vulnerable, the bishop said.

“What you celebrate here must be lived out there with the heart of Christ. This is essential to the priesthood.”

As his priestly ministry commences, Fr Ropata will continue to minister in Napier.

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