John Basil Meeking (19 November 1929 – 11 June 2020) was the seventh bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand from 1987 to 1995.


Basil Meeking
7th Bishop of Christchurch
Appointed30 March 1987
Installed3 June 1987
Term ended15 December 1995
PredecessorDenis Hanrahan
SuccessorJohn Cunneen
Orders
Ordination19 July 1953
by Edward Joyce
Consecration3 June 1987
by Thomas Williams
Personal details
Born(1929-11-19)19 November 1929
Ashburton, New Zealand
Died11 June 2020(2020-06-11) (aged 90)
Christchurch, New Zealand

Career edit

Having been ordained as a priest in 1953,[1] he was appointed as Bishop of Christchurch by Pope John Paul II on 30 March 1987 and resigned the see on 15 December 1995.[2] During this time, among other apostolic works, he served as the chaplain to Christchurch Hospital and represented the Catholic Church at the National Council of Churches.

From 1963 to 1966, he studied at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, following which he was appointed to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome, where he served for eighteen years.

Bishop Meeking died in Christchurch on 11 June 2020, aged 90, after what was reported as a "recent period of ill-health".[3][4]

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Bishop Basil Meeking, Bishop Emeritus of Christchurch, dies aged 90". NZ Catholic Newspaper. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  2. ^ Catholic Diocese of Christchurch, Bishop Basil Meeking, Bishop Emeritus of Christchurch (retrieved 28 January 2011)
  3. ^ "Former Christchurch Catholic bishop Basil Meeking dies". Stuff.co.nz. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Basil Meeking death notice". The New Zealand Herald. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.

External links edit

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Christchurch
1987–1995
Succeeded by