LGBT in New Zealand held annually in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Auckland and Wellington also hold regular lesbian social events. There are a number of gay and lesbian festivals in New Zealand. Hamilton, Wellington, Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin host annual Pride Weeks, usually operated by the local UniQ, related youth-focussed organisations, or the New Zealand AIDS Foundation as a community-building initiative. The was a popular event in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and while the organisation pulled the 2008 festival due to funding issues, it returned in 2009. Until 2008, the Hero Festival was held in Auckland each February, and included the Hero Parade, which
Catholic Church in New Zealand Catholic Church in New Zealand The Catholic Church in New Zealand is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, which, inspired by the life, death and teachings of Jesus Christ, and under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Roman curia in Vatican City (within Rome) is the largest Christian church in the world. Catholic settlers first arrived in the 1820s, with British settlement of New Zealand. Catholicism is the largest New Zealand Christian denomination having, according to the 2013 census, 492,384 members or around 11.07 percent of the total population. In New Zealand there is one Archdiocese (Wellington) and five