WelCom May 2021 Fr Seph Pijfers Last month, 41 clergy of the Archdiocese of Wellington gathered for a week-long assembly at Tatum Park conference centre, north of Ōtaki on the Kāpiti Coast. This was the first time in a good number of years the clergy have gathered for an extended period such as this. We […]
WelCom May 2021 16–23 May 2021 | 6–23 Haratua 2021 Dear friends, In the week between Ascension and Pentecost Sundays – 16 May to 23 May – the Christian churches celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We are united in our desire for unity, although we know this is a long road. In […]
WelCom April 2021 The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand has made a formal apology to victims and survivors of abuse committed by priests and other Church figures. Cardinal John Dew, Archbishop of Wellington and President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, gave the apology during a hearing of the Royal Commission into Abuse […]
WelCom April 2021 Happy Easter and Easter Blessings to all WelCom readers. When I wish you all Easter Blessings I am actually praying and hoping that the life of the Risen Jesus is awakened in a new way in your hearts, that the life of Jesus who is alive is deepened within you. The Gospel […]
WelCom April 2021 Michael McCabe Transformation is a word that comes to mind. In the Northern Hemisphere the transformation of Easter coincides with the miracle of spring whereas in Aotearoa New Zealand that transformation occurs in early autumn amidst the harvest and ripening of summer, the planting of bulbs, and allowing the land to become […]
WelCom April 2021 Easter Sunday – the resurrection John 20: 1-9 1 On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the […]
St Gerard’s Church is to be closed. The last Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal John Dew on Pentecost Sunday, 24 May 2021. St Gerard’s Church, which is part of Wellington’s most distinctive and iconic landmarks, is to be closed. The Church has been a missionary hub since it was built by the Redemptorists in […]
WelCom March 2021 As WelCom goes to print, Monday 1 March 2021, Auckland is at Alert Level 3. The rest of New Zealand is at Alert Level 2. These Alert Levels came into effect from 6am on Sunday 28 February to be in place for the following 7 days. After the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s […]
WelCom March 2021 Lent is a time to reconsider the path one is taking in life and to finally answer God’s invitation to return to him with one’s whole heart, says Pope Francis. Speaking in a homily at the Vatican on Ash Wednesday, 17 February 2021, the Pope said Lent was ‘about discerning where our […]
WelCom March 2021 Michael Fitzsimons Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has welcomed the Climate Change Commission Report which calls for ‘transformational and lasting change across society and the economy’ to address the climate crisis. Caritas, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Agency for justice, peace and development, urges widespread Catholic involvement in making submissions on the report, […]