Education
Sumich was educated at Street Peter"s College, Auckland and he completed his training as a civil engineer in Auckland in the 1980s. When the war had finished and Sumich returned to Croatia he found a "flourishing faith".
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Antony Sumich
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Career
In 1989 he relocated to Europe, intending to live in Croatia, but because of the war there, he went to Austria and worked there for eight winters as a ski instructor, and elsewhere in Europe while coaching rugby. After the war, he became the coach of the Croatian national rugby team "Everyone had rosaries in their pockets." Sumich found himself "practising as a Catholic for the first time in my life, as distinct from just going to Sunday Massachusetts
He wanted to know more about the Faith, because I"d just forgotten everything".
"lieutenant all made sense". He started going to frequent Confession and "finding a sense of shame which probably hadn"t existed before". At age 34, Sumich set aside a year, praying intensely, including the 15 prayers of Street Bridget of Sweden and the Rosary.
At this time, he was the coach of the Croatian rugby team "We would be playing at the Hong Kong Sevens and my rosary would be in my pocket and I would finger it".
Sumich liked to challenge his players.
"I would say to them, "strong moral life, strong character on the rugby field Weak moral life, and you are the first one to chuck the towel in when the going gets tough" ". Returning to New Zealand, Sumich found local liturgies very different from what he had become used to in Croatia.
But, in Auckland, he was introduced to the "awe-inspiring" Tridentine Mass celebrated by Father Denzil Meuli at Titirangi.
Sumich "felt God"s call and sought an order using this rite". Sumich was ordained a priest on 29 November 2008, at Street Michael"s Church, Remuera, Auckland, by Bishop John Basil Meeking, Bishop Emeritus of Christchurch, using the 1962 extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.
After his priestly ordination he was stationed in Orlu, Nigeria where he had also served following his ordination as a deacon. In 2011, Sumich was the Rector of Saint Gregory"s Academy, a Catholic boarding school located in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Politics
"They had broken free from communism and the church was free".
Membership
He also played Cricket for Croatia, being a member of the Croatian National Cricket team in 2001.
