Youth ministry award winners announced

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and its Office for Young People have announced the recipients of the 2010 Delargey Awards, which recognise significant and outstanding contributions to Catholic youth ministry in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The 2010 recipients are Br Douglas Dawick FMS of the Archdiocese of Wellington; "The Team" of Michael O'Sullivan, Michael Buchanan and Kirsty Campbell RIP from the Diocese of Palmerston North and Tina Shore from the Diocese of Auckland. The awards will be presented to recipients in their respective dioceses early next year.

The biannual Awards are sponsored by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference in honour of Cardinal Reginald Delargey (1914-1979), renowned for his work with young Catholics in New Zealand. The Awards recognise various components of youth ministry, including advocacy; justice and service; catechesis; leadership development; community life; pastoral care; evangelisation; prayer and worship.

National Project Coordinator of the Office for Young People, Sr Helen O’Sullivan RNDM, described the nominations for the awards as “heartening”.

“The number and quality of the nominations showed that there are many committed people working across the country for the benefit and empowerment of young people in the Catholic church of today”.