Christchurch pilgrims visit Northland Catholic sites

The 32 pilgrims visited Totara Point on October 29 as part of a Jubilee Year Pilgrimage to Catholic sites in Northland. The pilgrimage started on October 26, with Bishop Michael Gielen joining on October 28.

The visit to Totara Point was described as a highlight of the pilgrimage and as a very moving experience.

“One of the pilgrims shared that her great great great grandmother was present at that first Mass as a 10-year-old! We listened as the pilgrim read out her relative’s experience of being at that Mass,” stated a Facebook post from the pilgrimage.

On the same day, the pilgrims visited St Mary’s Church at Motuti, the resting place of Bishop Pompallier. Mass was celebrated there, and at the end of the liturgy Bishop Gielen requested on behalf of the pilgrims that Bishop Pompallier’s casket be raised for viewing. This was done, and it was described as “a solemn, sacred moment for all present”.

Among the other sites visited by the pilgrims were the National Shrine of St Peter Chanel and the Pompallier Mission and Printery in Russell, Waitāruke Sacred Heart Church, Holy Family Catholic Church in Kerikeri and Doubtless Bay, off which the first Mass in New Zealand territory was said to have been celebrated in 1769 onboard a French ship at anchor in the bay.

Most of the pilgrims were from Christchurch with three from Timaru, two from Ashburton and one from Wellington.

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Catholic Diocese of Christchurch Northland pilgrimage (Facebook)