Thomas Stafford Williams
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His Eminence Thomas Stafford Williams ONZ ChStJ |
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| Cardinal, Archbishop Emeritus of Wellington | |
| Archdiocese | Wellington |
| Appointed | 30 October 1979 |
| Installed | 20 December 1979 |
| Term ended | 21 March 2005 |
| Predecessor | Reginald Delargey |
| Successor | John Atcherley Dew |
| Other posts | Cardinal-Priest of Gesù Divin Maestro alla Pineta Sacchetti |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 20 December 1959 by Grégoire-Pierre Agagianian |
| Consecration | 20 December 1979 by Owen Snedden |
| Created Cardinal | 2 February 1983 by John Paul II |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
20 March 1930 Wellington, New Zealand |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post | Ordinary of the Military Ordinariate of New Zealand (1995-2005) |
| Motto | Unity in Christ |
| Coat of arms |  |
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Styles of Thomas Stafford Williams |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Thomas Stafford Williams ONZ ChStJ (born 20 March 1930) is a cardinal in the Catholic church and before his retirement in 2005 the fifth Archbishop of Wellington.
Williams was born in Wellington, New Zealand and educated at Holy Cross Primary School, Seatoun; SS Peter and Paul School, Lower Hutt; St. Patrick's College, Wellington; and St. Kevin's College, Oamaru. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Victoria University, Wellington, and worked for some years as an accountant. During his studies, he was deeply involved in the Catholic Youth Movement (YCW) and for a period worked full-time for the movement. In 1954 he commenced studies for the priesthood at the National Seminary, Holy Cross College, Mosgiel, Dunedin.
In 1956 he was sent to the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in theology and was ordained a priest on 20 December 1959. Later he received a social sciences degree from University College Dublin.
Returning to Wellington, he served as assistant pastor and as Director of Studies at the Catholic Enquiry Centre. He left that post when he volunteered to serve as a missionary in Samoa (today the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia), where he was parish priest for 5 years. He returned to New Zealand in 1963 and became parish priest at St. Patrick's in Palmerston North for two years. This was followed by four years as Director of the Catholic Enquiry Centre in Wellington. In 1971 he moved to Leulumoega, Samoa and returned to New Zealand in 1976 to the Holy Family Parish in Porirua East, one of the Archdiocese's most multi-cultural parishes.
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