WelCom is the monthly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Wellington. Print copies of the eight-page newsletter are free and available in parishes, and sent to parishes and schools in PDF form. The archive contains WelCom stories published from 2007 to 2026 (May).
There is a big difference between restoration and renovation!
This is emphasised by French-born stonemason, Nicolas Piveteau, whose skill has engaged him with Sacred Heart Cathedral for the past year.
‘Restoration,’ says Nicolas, ‘is working to bring a building, or parts of it, back to its original condition. Renovation, is replacing whatever is beyond repair.’
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is accepting donations to help the people of south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria, seriously impacted by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks of 6 February. The earthquake destroyed thousands of buildings and killed over 50,000 people.
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano on 15 January 2022 caused widespread devastation across the dispersed island nation of the Kingdom of Tonga, Tongan Fakatu’i ‘o Tonga. Estimates indicated the disaster affected 85 per cent of Tonga’s population, with businesses, homes, workplaces, schools and telecommunications infrastructure impacted by the eruption or subsequent tsunami.
WelCom March 2023
On 22 February 2023, almost a year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and ‘the beginning of this absurd and cruel war’, the Pope at the General Audience dwelt on this ‘sad anniversary’.
One year of war in Ukraine, has seen Pope Francis’ sorrow and tireless appeals for peace.
The city of Antioch, where believers were first called Christians, has been all but wiped out by the February 6 earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria.
Thousands of refugees across Australia who have lived ‘in limbo’ for years will be eligible to stay in the country permanently as the Labor Government moves to enact a pre-election commitment.
Pope Francis’ trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan was a pilgrimage of peace to countries with long-running violent conflicts that have largely been forgotten by the rest of the world.
An independent commission has concluded that dozens of women were violated by Jean Vanier and his mentor under exploitative spiritual disciplines.
The beatification date has been announced for a family of nine who were killed by the Nazis for hiding a Jewish family in their home in Poland.
The Archdiocese of Przemyska announced that the entire Ulma family – Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and their seven children, including one unborn child – will be beatified on September 10.