Bishop Michael Gielen was appointed Bishop of Christchurch on 21 May 2022 and was Installed as Bishop on 9 July 2022 in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral.

Bishop Michael Gielen was born in 1971 in Cambridge, Waikato and was raised in Tokoroa. He is the eldest of six children of Henk and Maureen Gielen.

Bishop Michael  studied for the priesthood at Holy Cross Seminary, Mosgiel and was ordained a priest for the Hamilton Diocese on 29 November 1997 by Bishop Max Mariu SM. He worked in parishes in Gisborne, Hamilton and Western Bay of Plenty before becoming Director of Formation at Holy Cross Seminary, Auckland in 2014. Bishop Michael Gielen was appointed Auxiliary (assistant) Bishop of Auckland on 6 January 2020 and was ordained as a bishop by Bishop Pat Dunn (then Bishop of Auckland) on 7 March 2020.

Bishop Michael Gielen loves sport- he even played representative cricket for Poverty Bay when he was a priest living in Gisborne. He has been a keen Chiefs supporter, and then a Blues supporter, and now he looks forward to becoming a Crusaders supporter.

Bishop Michael’s motto is “Totus Tuus” which was the motto of Pope Saint John Paul II and means “All for Jesus, through Mary”.