Christianity in New Zealand dates to the arrival of missionaries from the Church Missionary Society who were welcomed onto the beach at Rangihoua Bay in December 1814. It soon became the predominant belief amongst the indigenous people with an estimated 60% of Māori pledging allegiance to the Christian message within the first 35 years. It remains New Zealand's largest religious group, but no one denomination is dominant and there is no official state church. Today, slightly less than half the population identify as Christian. The largest Christian groups are Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian. Christian organisations are the leading non-government providers of social services in New Zealand. History The first Christian services conducted in New Zealand were carried out by Father Paul-Antoine Léonard de Villefeix, the Dominican chaplain on the ship Saint Jean Baptiste commanded by the French navigator and explorer Jean-François-Marie de Surville. Villefeix was the first Christian minister to set foot in New Zealand, and he celebrated Mass near Whatuwhiwhi in Doubtless Bay on Christmas Day in 1769. He is reported to have also led prayers for the sick the previous day and to have conducted Christian burials. The first Christian missionaries to establish permanent ministries arrived in New Zealand at the start of the 19th century. The Church Mission Society, an Anglican organisation, established a presence in New Zealand in 1814, with the permission and protection of Ngā Puhi chief Ruatara. This expedition was led by Samuel Marsden. It was this initiative which led to the rapid acceptance of Christian belief amongst Māori, reinforced by the learning of te Reo Māori by Protestant missionaries and the training and mobilisation of indigenous ministers. The dedication of the missionaries directly led to their involvement in helping write the founding document of the nation - Te Tiriti o Waitangi (or Treaty of Waitangi) on 6 February 1840. Later missionaries brought other religious denominations – Jean Baptiste Pompallier played an important role in establishing the Catholic Church in New Zealand. Presbyterianism was brought to New Zealand largely by Scottish settlers. The Māori people also created their own forms of Christianity, with Ratana and Ringatu being the largest. The Sisters of Mercy arrived in Auckland in 1850 and were the first order of religious sisters to come to New Zealand and began work in health care and education. At the direction of Mary MacKillop (St Mary of the Cross), the Sisters of St