Jean Baptiste Pompallier was born in France in 1801.
There was some opposition to Pompallier’s arrival because settlers feared French annexation but his courage and dignity impressed many Maori leaders, which helped him overcome European suspicions. Those few early missionaries encountered language difficulties as none of the three were conversant with either Maori or English but Pompallier was quick to master both.
Over six feet tall he was an imposing figure and his personal charm endeared him to Irish catholics in the area. Jean-Claude Colin, founder of the Society of Mary, later called the Marist Brothers, gave generous aid to Pompallier enabling him to establish mission stations in several North Island settlements, where he walked long distances overland to visit them. While setting up these missions Pompallier made four voyages down the east coasts of both islands reaching Otago where again he explored the hinterland. There were unfounded allegations that French missionaries were encouraging insurgency among Maori chiefs in Northland but Governor Grey investigated these claims and completely cleared Pompallier and his priests of any such subversion.
Unfortunately Pompallier was an inept administrator and overreached himself financially. On his mandatory visit to Rome in 1846 it was obvious to church authorities that it was time for him to end his association with the Marists and that the missions were to be divided with into two dioceses, one in Auckland with Pompallier in charge and another in Wellington staffed by the Brothers. Pompallier was absent from New Zealand for four years as he travelled extensively throughout Europe gathering funds and personnel for his new diocese. He finally arrived back with two priests, 10 seminarians and eight Irish Sisters of Mercy. In his absence the Catholic population in the Auckland region had doubled, but the Maori missions in the North had collapsed because of the Northern war and the antipathy it generated towards Europeans.
On his return Pompallier finished training his clergy and after their ordination they were sent to the missions vacated by the Marists. He remained in Auckland where the Catholic Church made steady progress due to the strong united team he formed with the Sisters of Mercy. He sailed again to Europe in 1859 and returned with eight Fransiscans eight seminarians and four French women intended for his new order, the Sisters of the Holy Family. Though a british citizen since 1850, he stayed neutral during the 1860s wars but had to watch helplessly as Maori Catholics drifted away.
In Auckland he was more successful. His seminary produced some outstanding priests and the Sisters of Mercy formed a sort of colony on Mount St Mary in Ponsonby. But there were still financial problems. The Maori missions never paid back the money he had borrowed for them, government aid to his schools came to an end and the laity resented bearing the burden.
He borrowed what little he could and mortgaged 45 acres of land owned by the diocese but the debt continued to climb and creditors wanted repayment. When he left for Europe in 1868 he realised the situation was very bad indeed and he knew he was too old and sick to deal with it. He resigned in 1869 and was made honorary archbishop of Amasia. Accusations and suspicions of misconduct without substance or proof clouded his last days in New Zealand but his only guilt was poor administration. Pompallier was a devout man with talent and vision who spent his life in the service of others. He died at Puteaux in 1871, the man who founded the Catholic Church in New Zealand. (DEIRDRE ROELANTS)