Revitalisation project at site of first Catholic Mass on NZ soil

On March 17, a group of Champagnat Marist educators visited Totara Point as part of the hikoi to historic Catholic sites in the Far North. They received a “big ‘Haere Mai’ from Fr Maliu ‘Otutaha, Panguru parish priest and his team of stone masons and labourers from the Tongan Catholic Community”, according to a report in the Marist Star, a provincial news site of the Marist Brothers.

“The restoration project is to benefit future pilgrims to the first Catholic Mass site here at Totara Point, Hokianga in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“To add to the occasion, our group blessed a stone and Jeanavieve Pome’e (director of religious studies, Marcellin College) placed this on our behalf to acknowledge our pioneering Marists, all those who have gone before us, the present and future of those who not only preserve but enhance our Champagnat Marist Mission on these shores.”

Bishop Pompallier celebrated the first Mass on New Zealand soil in the home of Thomas and Mary Poynton at Totara Point on January 13, 1838. About a week after that first Mass, the Poyntons’ only son died.

Thomas Poynton wrote: “Over his grave I placed the first ever Catholic cross that was ever erected in New Zealand. My little daughter, Catherine, was the first child ever baptised in the Catholic Church in New Zealand, as her brother was the first ever buried according to the rites of the Church in that country.”

The Poyntons’ house no longer stands, but a plinth was built in 1938 to commemorate the centenary of the first Mass. 

The Champagnat educators’ pilgrimage took them to significant sites: Kororāreka (Russell), Kaikohe, Motuti and Tōtara Point. Together, they retraced the steps of those who first carried the Marist mission to these shores, strengthening their understanding of its legacy and reaffirming their commitment to its future.

FULL STORY

Honouring the Past, Retracing History: The First Champagnat Marist Educators’ Pilgrimage in Aotearoa (By Daniel Dungey/Marist Star)

Bishop Pompallier (NZCBC)

‘The Missionary Race’ Marist Messenger

Nga Tapuwae Pilgrimage 2023 – Catholic Diocese of Auckland (Catholic Diocese of Auckland)