Wiremu Hākopa Toa Te Āwhitu (28 July 1914 – 29 July 1994) was the first

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

to be ordained a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest. He was born at Ōkahukura, north of

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

, in the central North Island, and was of Ngāti Hāuaroa (

Ngāti Hāua Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

) and

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on the ...

descent. After his ordination in 1944 he worked at Ōtaki in 1945 and 1946 and then in Hawke's Bay for 11 years. He suffered a stroke in 1958 and spent several years recuperating. He resumed ministry in Taranaki in 1966. He moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

on the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...

in 1968 and spent 21 years there, including the period when poet James K. Baxter lived there and attended his church services. He retired to Ōkahukura in 1989.

Sources

* John Newton, ''The Double Rainbow: James K. Baxter, Ngāti Hau and the Jerusalem Commune'', Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2009. 1914 births 1994 deaths People educated at Hato Petera College, Auckland 20th-century New Zealand Roman Catholic priests People from Manawatū-Whanganui New Zealand Māori religious leaders Ngāti Hāua people Ngāti Maniapoto people {{NewZealand-reli-bio-stub