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“It was a joy and a privilege for me to live, pray and work with the students and staff of CDC. The aim of the college is to make disciples of Christ. The staff and formation team do this wonderfully well!” – Lecturer Fr Trevor Murray Diocese of Hamilton

“The Catholic Discipleship College has been an exciting initiative undertaken with my full support. I believe it has the potential to train a future generation of committed young Catholic lay apostles. My prayer is that it will attract sufficient funding to continue into the future. I have every confidence that it will attract a growing number of young people who are looking for an opportunity to deepen their love for Jesus Christ and their understanding of Catholic doctrine. The CDC programme goes beyond the academic to foster inner conversion and to produce graduates who will bring their love for our Lord to every sphere of their future lives.” Bishop Patrick Dunn – Auckland

“Pope JPII called for a new evangelization in our time. I consider CDC will be a powerful means of training (young) Catholics to confidently and enthusiastically share the Good News of Jesus Christ in our land.” Bishop Colin Campbell – Dunedin

“I entirely support the Catholic Discipleship College. I can think of nothing which is likely to contribute more to the renewal of the Church in New Zealand. That the need for it is felt by many Catholics is shown by the numbers of our people who already attend the Bible Colleges at Henderson, Tauranga and other places. A Catholic Bible School seeks to do what they do – but in a Catholic way.” Fr Justin Taylor sm – Senior Doctor of Divinity Cambridge, Associate Director Biblical Institute Jerusalem

“There is a great need for lay people to have a holistic preparation for service of God and the Church. Good Shepherd College recognizes the unique contribution of the Catholic Discipleship College to the Church in New Zealand. Catholic Discipleship College is the only residential, formation house for Catholic Lay students, where students are formed in the prayer life, and prepared for mission especially to young people.” Fr Brendan Daly – Principal of Good Shepherd College Auckland

“The students at the Catholic Discipleship College are being offered a rich programme and are eager to avail themselves of every opportunity and extend their horizons. I found them a very receptive group, mature and appreciative. This augurs well for the future of the Church in Aotearoa New Zealand. Congratulations to all your team and to all participants. May CDC continue to thrive.” – Lecturer Sr Fay Johnson rsm

“I saw in New Zealand a tremendous need and a spiritual hunger in the young adults and laity I met there. I saw in NZ an opportunity for a national discipleship school and believe the CDC team is capable of touching the entire country through the fruits of such a project.” John Connelly – former principal of JPII Bible School in Canada

“I’d forgotten just how much I missed living in community. It’s been over twenty-five years since I left Holy Cross Seminary, Mosgiel, where I trained for the priesthood. Living in community; praying the Prayer of the Church; studying; being with others 24/7 and being part and parcel of their lives, were an integral part of our training and formation. While we came from different backgrounds and ranged in ages from 18 to 55, what bound us together was our Catholic heritage and the desire to discern the vocation to the priesthood. Those were enjoyable and challenging times.

In late April 2007, I was given the opportunity to experience again the joys and challenges of living in community. Some months earlier, I had been asked by Fr Neil Vaney of the Catholic Discipleship College, if I might be willing to teach a course in liturgy. "Sure", I said, "I’d love to". And love it, I did!!

I had 5 days with the 8 young men and women who, with the staff and formation team, comprise the community of the Catholic Discipleship College. What a joy! The generosity, exuberance and fun of young people never cease to amaze me. While these qualities in themselves are powerful enough, when they are combined with a heartfelt and sincere love of Christ and the Church, they become truly transformative. This is at the heart of the College: the courage and openness to allow Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to transform their lives.

The present students come to the College from different backgrounds, countries and experiences. One is a mother and grandmother, another taught English in his native Shanghai; one is a physiotherapist, another is an IT graduate; one has just left school, another has worked as a hairdresser; one has worked with heavy machinery, another has had to face the burden of major health issues.

What binds these students into a single community is their love of Christ and his Church. What moulds and fashions them is their willingness to be transformed by Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. What sets them apart from others of their age group is the desire to be obedient to the will of God.

When it comes time for these 8 students to leave the Catholic Discipleship College, they will be changed. They arrived: some teachers, professionals, labourers… They arrived: some strong, some fragile. They will leave, all of them, transformed. It was a joy and a privilege for me to live, pray and work with the students and staff of the College. The aim of the College is to make disciples of Christ. The staff and formation team do this wonderfully well!

 So…if you want to discover what it means to be a disciple of Christ or you are trying to discern where God is calling you, consider seriously the Catholic Discipleship College. You won’t be disappointed!” – Lecturer Fr Trevor Murray Diocese of Hamilton

“It was my privilege to spend a week working with six impressive young adults who were involved in deepening their Catholic Christian formation through spirituality, prayer, scripture study and community life at the Catholic Discipleship College . . .

A number of features impressed me, but none more so that the deep sense of prayer and worship that permeated the group along with their openness and wish to learn . . .

The nine-month programme describes itself as a school of formation to form disciples of Jesus. Besides a balanced academic programme there is an accompaniment that gives pastoral care, guidance, and spiritual direction . . .

My enduring sense is that CDC is a project that deserves to develop; it runs on faith, hope and a lot of charity in the form of its benefactors.

‘Awesome’ describes the depth of the spiritual life of the participants, their eagerness to grow in their faith, their potential to become fine