The suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand are a long way from home for Indian-born Fr Albano Da Costa SVD, but as a missionary, he has found himself at the cutting edge of a new model of ministry which aims to fill the gap left by dwindling priestly vocations.

Fr Albano works with two priests and two lay pastoral leaders from the Archdiocese of Wellington as part of a new expression of collaborative ministry.

Archbishop John Dew has introduced Lay Pastoral Leadership into the Archdiocese both as a way to address the shortage of priests and to celebrate and support the baptismal calling of lay people in the Church.

Under the Lay Pastoral Leadership model, lay men and women are trained so that they can work alongside priests in pastoral area teams, not replacing the priests, but complementing them and collaborating with them in providing pastoral care in a particular area of the Archdiocese.

Fr Albano and his fellow team members work in three parishes – Sacred Heart Parish, Petone, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Waiwhetu and San Antonio Church, Eastbourne. It is a multicultural area, made up largely of Maori as well as people from Sudan, Sri Lanka and India. Eastbourne has its own cultural identity, having been founded by Italians.

“So every Sunday you’ll find me in a different one of those three parishes,” he says. “It puts you in touch with a wider community and I feel good about that.”

Fr Albano and the other priests on his team celebrate Mass and conduct baptisms, funerals and weddings, while the lay pastoral leaders take carriage of the pastoral life of the parishes, including sacramental programs, administration and finance. He also spends time at the Sacred Heart School, Petone and at the school in Eastbourne and does home visits and visits to the sick.

A key pastoral focus for Fr Albano and his team has been the nurturing of the faith for children and young people. One of the fruits of that dedication has been the growth of a popular children’s Mass at Eastbourne.

“Families who we never used to see are coming to that Mass. Numbers are on the rise and that’s wonderful,” he says.

Fr Albano says that although the model of ministry is new and has its challenges, it is also rewarding.

“I get to move around among the people a lot more,” he says. “I’m free to be visiting homes and taking Communion to the sick, and seeing people. Although of course there are the inevitable meetings to attend. There are always meetings.”

As a new priest, ordained in May 2011, Fr Albano says he is enjoying the challenge of being a missionary in the suburbs.

“I’m happy to be here in this ministry and to be working collaboratively. I love the people here and they love me too. They express that to me and that gives me great happiness,” he says.