The church figure is on top of the 750 Syrian refugees the Government confirmed this afternoon it would take over the next three years - a measure expected to cost an extra $50 million.
Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse has confirmed New Zealand will take 600 in an emergency intake over and above the usual annual quota of 750. A further 150 places will be offered with the quota over the next year.
• NZ to take 750 Syrian refugees
Under the plan a total of 250 will be offered by mid next year. After, that a further 500 will come in by mid 2018, totalling 750.
The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, ib Sunday called on every European church parish and religious community to take in one refugee family in a gesture of solidarity, which he said would start in the tiny Vatican state where he lives.
Cardinal John Dew, of the Roman Catholic Church, and Archbishop Philip Richardson, of the Anglican Church, stood together to address media this morning at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Wellington.
"We are really grateful that the Government are prepared to step up. We are saying that we believe, through the churches, we could handle even more," Cardinal Dew said.
The church leaders had been "gratified and astounded" by the number of people in their communities who had offered to help.
Between the two churches there were about 650 parishes, and if even half of those committed to help one family each, 300 families could be settled - a minimum of about 1200 people.
Archbishop Richardson said the movement across Europe of refugees was unseen since World War II, and was a response to totalitarianism and extremism.
"The most effective way we can, as communities, respond is with generous compassion. It is such an occasion, it is such a time in history again."
Each parish had support networks such as schools and social services, and both men were confident issues such as translation difficulties could be overcome.
"What we are seeing across our own church communities is that we are already multicultural communities ... we certainly would be optimistic that we can address a range of resource issues, including the issue of translation," Archbishop Richardson said.
"We have a long history and experience with assisting with resettlement, so this is not unfamiliar territory to us. So moving people from immediate support through to their own homes and their own jobs and making a significant contribution to New Zealand society is something we know about."
That history included helping settle Polish refugees in the 1940s and people fleeing Vietnam in the 1970s.
Cardinal Dew did not believe the fact refugees were not likely to hold the same religious belief as their hosts would be any issue.
"This is a humanitarian crisis, and I think that's what people are saying they want to help with - they have seen other human beings driven from their homes. People really struggling ... people want to help others."
Pope Francis appealed to the tens of thousands of Catholic parishes in Europe, as the number of refugees and migrants arriving over land through the Balkans and across the Mediterranean to Italy and Greece hits record levels.
There are more than 25,000 parishes in Italy alone, and more than 12,000 in Germany, where many of the Syrians fleeing civil war and people trying to escape poverty and hardship in other countries say they want to end up.
