Marking 40 years of becoming a priest
Fr John Roberts of the Catholic Parish of Whanganui — Te Parihi Katorika ki Whanganui — marked 40 years a priest on Sunday, August 19.
Rostered to preside at the 9.30am Mass in Patea, many parishioners travelled from Whanganui to join the parishioners of St Patrick’s Parish to celebrate this milestone with him.
“If given the choice to do this all over again, I most certainly would,” said Fr Roberts.
Unable to pinpoint one particular highlight, he said being able to be with parishioners and to share in the highs and lows of their lives is the real highlight of his long ministry.
Born in Auckland to parents who were doctors, his family shifted to Featherston in 1946 when he was a youngster, because his father had a medical partnership with the local doctor.
After school he worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Wellington.
From an early age, Fr John always wanted to become a priest. In his late 20s he headed to St Paul’s National Seminary in Sydney for late vocations and was ordained in St Joseph’s Church in Upper Hutt by Bishop Owen Snedden in 1978.
He remembers being stunned at the number of people who attended, especially those from his home town of Featherston.
His first Mass was held at St Francis Xavier Church in Stokes Valley where he had previously served as a deacon.
“When I celebrated this Mass of Thanksgiving the next day I had an overwhelming awareness that standing at the presider’s chair and at the altar was absolutely right,” he says.
His parish appointments began in Stratford, then the Cathedral in Palmerston North, Waipukurau, Whanganui, Our Lady of Lourdes back in Palmerston North, Pahiatua, Island Bay, St Gerard’s Monastery in Wellington and Fielding. In Whanganui he has special responsibilities to the elderly, those in hospital and hospice, and with the National Catholic Liturgy Office in Auckland.
Fr John is the District Chaplain for St John and supports staff. He also mentors other neighbouring area chaplains. In July 2016 he was invested with the Order of St John by then Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland.