Joyful celebration at Auckland ethnic festival

The Rise Up and Shine Ethnic Festival took place at St Luke’s Parish in Flat Bush on September 20-21. The event, coordinated by Louisa Rani of the Diocese of Auckland Mission Support desk, brought together more than a dozen ethnic chaplaincies and communities in a joyful celebration of faith and culture.

The first day featured food stalls offering tastes from around the world, while the afternoon concert was a feast for the senses, with traditional dances and music energising the crowd. On the Sunday, the celebration culminated in a Thanksgiving Mass celebrated by Auckland Bishop Steve Lowe, where the liturgy reflected the Church’s rich multicultural identity. The Mass was a powerful expression of unity in Christ, celebrating diversity as gift.

A few weeks after this festival, Sancta Maria College in Flat Bush, which is adjacent to St Luke’s Parish, is to put on a Twilight Ethnic Festival.

This festival, an annual event at the college, is in the late afternoon on October 10. It will feature flavours from throughout the world as well as music and entertainment in the college courtyard courtesy of school bands and guest performers.

Last year, the food on offer at the Twilight Ethnic Festival came from a range of cultures including the Philippines, Sri Lanka, China, Mexico, India, Samoa, Tonga, Korea, Aotearoa, Indonesia and Vietnam.

FULL STORY

NZ Catholic Issue 7 October 2025 (NZ Catholic/Catholic Diocese of Auckland)

Facebook (Auckland Catholic Filipino Chaplaincy)

Twilight Cultural Festival – 10 October 2025 (Sancta Maria College)

Cultural Festival unites and ignites our community (Sancta Maria College)