Video highlights Palmerston North pilgrimage sites

A series of such videos has been inspired by the recent Jubilee Year theme, Pilgrims of Hope, and presents key places of pilgrimage throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Palmerston North video starts at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. The building was opened in 1925 as St Patrick’s Church, designed by architect Frederick de Jersey Clere (who also designed St Mary of the Angel’s Church and St Gerard’s Monastery in Wellington).

When the diocese was established in 1980, the church was rededicated to the Holy Spirit as the cathedral. It was renovated, added to and reordered in 1988. The building was designated a Category 1 historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust in 1990.

In the Pilgrims of Hope video, presenter Joanna Kearney heard from Rick Field about aspects of the cathedral, including a large marble altar, stained-glass windows and stations of the cross.

The next video stop was Hiruhārama/Jerusalem on the Whanganui River, noted for its association with the Venerable Meri Hopeha Suzanne Aubert and the Sisters of Compassion. The video praised the sisters’ “practical, grounded and tireless” work.

Another venue in the video was Pakipaki in Hawkes Bay, where Mrs Kearney heard about the connection between Māori and the Catholic Church in the region.

She next visited Our Lady of the Southern Star Abbey at Kopua in southern Hawke’s Bay – where visitors are welcome “not to tour but to pause, to breathe and to listen”. It is not just a monastery, Mrs Kearney said; it is a living prayer.

The video’s final stop was at Mission Estate Winery in Greenmeadows, Napier, with significant Catholic history on show.

FULL STORY

 Pilgrims of Hope – Catholic Diocese of Palmerston North (Catholic Enquiry Centre/YouTube)

Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Palmerston North – Wikipedia (Wikipedia)