Michael Joseph Dooley (born 13 December 1961) is a New Zealand

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was appointed as the 7th

Bishop of Dunedin The Diocese of Dunedin is one of the thirteen dioceses and ''hui amorangi'' (Māori bishoprics) of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese covers the same area as the provinces of Otago and Southland in the South ...

, New Zealand on 22 February 2017, ordained bishop on 26 April 2018 and installed on 27 April 2018. Dooley was born in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

, the son of Joseph Dooley and Mary Hogan. He was educated at Heddon Bush Primary School and Central Southland College, Winton. He completed an apprenticeship as a

fitter and turner A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

before studying for a Bachelor of Theology at

Otago University , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

while he was at

Holy Cross Seminary Holy Cross College or Holy Cross Seminary is the national Roman Catholic seminary of New Zealand for the training of priests. It was first opened in 1900 in Mosgiel and was relocated to Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland, Auckland in 1997. Estab ...

, then located at

Mosgiel Mosgiel (Māori: ''Te Konika o te Matamata'') is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin ...

. He then completed a Master of Theology at

Melbourne College of Divinity The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in divinity. It is constituted by eleven theological colleges from eight denominations. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest ...

. Dooley was an assistant priest at St. Mary's Basilica, Invercargill and at

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...

. After completing his master's degree in theology in Melbourne, he was parish priest of Mosgiel where he was also Director at the Holy Cross Formation Centre. He then became Formator and Spiritual Director at

in Auckland. On returning to Dunedin, he was again parish priest of Mosgiel and Green Island. He was appointed

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the Dunedin diocese in 2016. On 22 February 2018, Dooley was appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

to succeed

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

, on his retirement, as the 7th Bishop of Dunedin. Dooley has said that he follows Pope Francis' views that instead of having a fortress mentality, it was better to engage with the world with a positive message of what the church may offer, like the gospel, to people in their everyday lives and to help the vulnerable in society and the poor which are "definitely what ope Franciswould want us to be more concerned about." Dooley has expressed his opposition to euthanasia. Dooley was ordained Bishop at the Dunedin Town Hall on 26 April 2018 and installed the next day. The principal consecrator was his predecessor,

and the principal co-consecrators were Cardinal Dew and Archbishop Martin Krebs, the

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

."Bishop Michael Dooley", ''Catholic Hierarchy''
(retrieved 1 May 2018)

References

External links

Catholic Diocese of Dunedin

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dooley, Michael 1961 births People from Invercargill Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in New Zealand Roman Catholic bishops of Dunedin Holy Cross College, New Zealand alumni University of Divinity alumni People educated at Central Southland College