The National Catholic Youth Ministry Award Scheme – the Delargey Awards - is sponsored by the National Council for Young Catholics (NCYC). NCYC is the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference Agency for Young Catholics.

The 2008 award winners were Kitty McKinley, Susie Jorgensen and Br John Paul Wilson fms.

The Awards recognise significant and outstanding contributions made in the field of Catholic youth ministry in Aotearoa New Zealand and are named in honour of Cardinal Delargey (short bio attached). The aims of the Awards are:

• To provide recognition for ministry workers and supporters of ministry with young people in New Zealand
• To educate the community about ministry with young people
• To raise the profile of Catholic ministry with young people in New Zealand
• To recognise the place of long-term involvement in Catholic ministry with young people
  

Kitty McKinley, the founder of Challenge 2000, a youth development organisation based in Wellington, was awarded a Delargey for her contribution in the areas of justice and peace.

Normally a person who has been affected by a youth leader nominates them for a Delargey award.  In Kitty’s case nominations came from not one but five people who all wrote significant letters of support.   Sister Judith McGinley from Wellington, a Dominican Sister and worker at Challenge 2000 was the official nominator of Kitty for the 2008 Delargey Award. The fact that so many people from many walks of life nominated Kitty shows something of her presence and standing in the Church and youth ministry in New Zealand.

Her nominators said that Kitty:

• Stands with the poor and oppressed – teaching others to do the same
• Making every effort to empower young people to put their tragic past behind them and become their best selves
• Providing food, clothes, home, education, opportunities to participate for people of a ll ages and teaching young people to do this

Susie Jorgensen from the Dunedin Diocese has been awarded a Delargey for the work she has done over the past six years with Catholic young people in the area of pastoral service.

During Susie’s time in the Gore Parish her commitment and love for young people and her desire to help them love and follow Christ and his bride the Church as been shown in the following ways:

Organising and leading weekly youth evenings, talks, games, devotions, fortnightly Sunday Vigil Parish youth Masses, weekly music practises and five very successful Antioch Camps.

She has also supported many young people through opening her home and family to them. This has been no easy task dealing with youth issues ‘one on one’.

Susie became a Catholic as a young adult and this has given her a particular appreciation of the spiritual needs of young people and a strong desire to bring them the benefits of the faith. Through her actions she has demonstrated her passion and enthusiasm for the spiritual growth of Catholic youth.

Her work with young people, in the Gore parish, was only made possible by her supportive family. A family that grew from one child when she started this work in 2002 to five children by the time she and her family left Gore for Oamaru this year. The loving support and encouragement of her husband Neil, together with their child: Samantha, Timothy, Ellie, Jonathan and Daniel are testament to the importance of the family and the Gospel of life.
Brother John Paul Wilson fms was awarded a Delargey for his contribution to evangelisation.  For 18 years Br JP, as he's known, was a teacher in the Marist Brothers' schools before he became Principal at Hato Petera and then La Valla College (the training college for young Marist Brothers) in Tuakau.

Later Brother JP was a key person involved in establishing the Marist Retreat Team.  He worked with the retreat team for ten years forming  young leaders in their faith and their leadership skills as well as helping students of our Catholic schools hear about God's love for them.

JP's warm, sincere faith, his commitment to justice, his energy, and his sense of humour are the things that are fondly remembered from these Marist Retreat team days.

After 10 years, JP retired from the Marist Retreat Team, but he did not totally retire...His love for young people, which underpins the charism of the Marist Brothers, kept him going. 

For the last 18 years JP has been involved in leadership development through the MARIST REMAR movement. As we know, JP leads the Remar team here at Marcellin College.
The Awards are presented biannually at the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry (NCCYM). The inaugural Award Ceremony took place at NCCYM 2004 held in Palmerston North followed by the 2006 Awards presented at NCCYM 2006 in Christchurch.