Cardinal Tom Williams, ONZ, Archbishop Emeritus of Wellington has died, aged 93, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference confirmed today.
Cardinal Williams became Archbishop of Wellington on December 20, 1979 — the 20th anniversary of his priestly ordination — following the death of Cardinal Reginald Delargey. He was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on February 2, 1983.
He was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand, New Zealand's highest civilian honour, in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours List. Only 20 living people can hold this honour at any one time.
Thomas Stafford Williams was born on March 20, 1930 in Wellington. He attended Holy Cross Primary School, Seatoun; Saints Peter and Paul School, Lower Hutt; St Patrick's College, Wellington; and St Kevin's College, Oamaru; before studying for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Victoria University, Wellington, then working as an accountant for several years.
He was deeply involved in the Catholic Youth Movement and, for a while, worked full-time for it. "It gave me my vocation," he said in a 2020 interview. "I wouldn't have become a priest if had I not had the background in the formation in the Catholic Youth Movement."
He began studying for the priesthood in 1954 at the National Seminary, Holy Cross College in Dunedin, and in 1956 went to the Pontifical Urban University in Rome where he gained a licentiate in theology. He was ordained a priest in Rome on 20 December 1959. He then attended University College, Dublin and received a degree in social sciences.
Returning to Wellington, he was assistant director at the Catholic Enquiry Centre, which to the present day continues to bring the light of faith to many non-Catholics and Catholics alike. He was parish priest at St Patrick's in Palmerston North for two years, a parish priest a priest in Samoa for five years, and from late-1975 parish priest at Holy Family Parish, Porirua East, one of the archdiocese's most multi-cultural parishes. Four years later, he was named Archbishop of Wellington.
"Above all, I thank God for giving me a share in the priesthood of his son, Jesus Christ, as I thank God for those in earlier years who formed me, and prepared me to respond to his call to priestly ministry,” Cardinal Tom said in December 2019 in a homily marking his 40th anniversary as a bishop and his 50th as a priest.
In that homily, he expressed gratitude to his parents, Thomas and Lillian, "who made huge sacrifices in nurturing my faith", to the Mercy and Marist Sisters and the Marist Fathers, to the Catholic Youth Movement chaplains as well as his brother bishops, "especially Cardinal John Dew, who supported me and tolerated my eccentricities and enthusiasms".
In an article on Cardinal Williams, the Vatican reporter for the American National Catholic Reporter, John Allen Jnr, wrote: "Despite his modest style, Cardinal Williams is nobody's fool. He has thought long and hard over a quarter-century about the distinctive contribution of Catholicism in Oceania, by which Williams has in mind not just people like himself, but also indigenous populations such as New Zealand's Māori, as well as the cultures of Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Fiji.
"All this makes Williams a passionate advocate for his local church, which has sometimes meant defending it when he believes Rome hasn't sufficiently grasped its challenges and its promise."
Looking back over the years, Cardinal Williams noted some of highlights in his life: his two ordination ceremonies, his five years in Samoa, the 1981 Springbok Tour, the 1986 papal visit, the archdiocesan synods of 1988 and 1998, the 1998 Oceania Synod in Rome, the Church Leaders Social Justice Initiative, the consistories, the funeral of Pope St John Paul II, the election of Pope Benedict XVI, and the Launch Out Programme for forming lay pastoral leaders.
Asked by NZ Catholic how he would like to be remembered, Cardinal Williams hesitated before saying, "I don't expect to be greatly remembered but... I would like to be remembered as a dedicated servant."
Cardinal Williams lived in retirement in Waikanae, where for many years he celebrated daily Mass for fellow residents at the Charles Fleming Retirement Village. He died there at 2.30am today.
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