NZ priests being formed for mission alongside laity

Fr Trung Nguyen and Fr Vince Onesi from Palmerston North Diocese are among those undertaking the Areté Centre for Missionary Leadership’s “Foundations of Missionary Leadership Program” in Sydney.

Now in its eighth year, the programme combines theological and spiritual formation with human development and practical leadership skills. 

Its 2026 participants include parish volunteers, emerging leaders, experienced ministry practitioners and Catholic educators, alongside three priests. This is the first time priests have taken part in the programme with lay people.

The partnership comes as calls emerged from this year’s archdiocesan synod in Sydney for greater opportunities for clergy and lay leaders to be formed together as collaborators in mission. 

Rather than priests and laypeople undertaking separate formation and later being expected to collaborate in parish life, the Areté model puts them in the same room – learning, praying, discerning and wrestling with the challenges of evangelisation together. 

Areté Centre director Fr Chris Ryan MGL said the change is a “great blessing”. 

“When clergy and laypeople learn together, it strengthens the unity, trust and shared purpose our parishes are longing for. This was a clear theme in the synod, and Areté is helping to make it a lived reality,” he said. 

“Some renewal may begin simply with clergy and laypeople sitting around the same table, allowing themselves to be formed in Christ, united by one evangelising mission.” 

The programme reflects a clear emphasis on mission, integrating spirituality, theology, leadership principles and the practical work of evangelisation. 

Priests bring their pastoral and sacramental experience to conversations, while laypeople bring their experience of family, work, education,  ministry and life in the wider community. Neither vocation is diminished by the encounter; rather, each can deepen its understanding of the contribution of the other. 

Weekly online lectures, in-person intensives and monthly mentoring also allow participants from across Australia and New Zealand to undertake the journey together. 

FULL STORY

At the same table: A new model for missionary formation (By Daniel Ang/The Catholic Weekly)