gold in 1857 and after meant a rapid expansion of the Church on the West Coast, and Dunedin became a separate diocese in 1869. Irish priests arrived and followed their compatriots to the diggings. The Sisters of the Missions also arrived to establish schools in Napier (Sacred Heart College Napier and St Joseph's Māori Girls' College) and in Christchurch and Nelson. Archdiocese Viard died on 2 June 1872 and was succeeded by Francis Redwood, who remained ordinary of the diocese for 61 years. The diocese was elevated to an archdiocese on 10 May 1887 and Christchurch became a separate diocese. Thomas O’Shea became his coadjutor bishop in 1913 and remained so for 22 years. Redwood died in 1935 and was succeeded by O’Shea whose archepiscopate lasted for 12 years. Peter McKeefry was appointed coadjutor archbishop in 1947 and succeeded on the death of O’Shea in 1954. McKeefry was appointed a cardinal in 1969 and was assisted by Owen Snedden who was auxiliary bishop from 1962. Cardinals During McKeefry's episcopate the Catholic population of Wellington more than doubled and 39 new parishes were established. New orders arrived such as the Cistercians in Hawkes Bay. McKeefry, who became New Zealand's first cardinal in 1969, was succeeded in 1973 by Reginald Delargey who in turn was succeeded, on his death in 1979, by Thomas Williams, who became a cardinal in 1983. In 1980 the archdiocese was split with the creation of the Palmerston North diocese. Williams retired in March 2005 and John Dew was appointed as his replacement. He was made a cardinal in 2015. Present In 2019, Dew, addressing the state of the church's buildings and the future of their congregations, stated that soaring insurance costs and a dwindling number of priests meant that the resources of the archdiocese would have to be more efficiently used. He said that fewer resources would be poured into retaining buildings and more attention and energy focused on serving the poor, as required by Pope Francis and the synod. He said that earthquake resilience issues meant that the archdiocese was liable for unsustainable insurance costs and the strengthening of buildings with unacceptable New Building Standard ratings. Already four churches and Sacred Heart Cathedral had been closed because of this. He also stated that some parishes would need to amalgamate to cope with the lack of clergy. He said that the reduced number of priests, which was