Manuel is the Vicar for Māori in the diocese of Auckland. He sits on the diocesan Lead Team and the NZCBC Rōpū Māori. The role of the Vicar for Māori is to be a link between the bishop and the Māori Catholic faithful in the diocese; to provide pastoral care to the Māori Catholic community of the diocese; to support parishes, schools and other faith communities of the diocese to develop their ministry to and with Māori and to support diocesan departments and agencies. The previous two Vicars for Māori, Pā Henare Tate and Pā Anthony Brown, are Manuel’s uncles – so it’s a family business! Manuel has nearly 25 years of ministry experience in the diocese, having served as Director for Catholic Youth Ministry for the Diocese and Pastoral Assistant for the parish of St John the Evangelist in Ōtara. Manuel has governance experience on Marae boards, school boards and NGO’s. Manuel is married to Pata who is the DRS at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Onehunga. They have 1 adult daughter and 1 granddaughter. Manuel’s favourite ways to unwind are to cook (and to eat) and to travel – anywhere on a plane. For ten years prior to the pandemic Manuel and Pata were leading pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Christian shrines in Europe. They have taken over 300 people on pilgrimages through the years. They are hoping to restart this ministry very soon.