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).
June 2015 World The United Nations World Refugee Day is observed annually on 20 June. It honours the spirit and courage of millions of refugees worldwide and recognises their contribution to their new communities. Since the outbreak of conflict and civil war in Syria in 2011, millions of Syrians have been displaced, many crossing the […]
June 2015 Feature Respect for life Msgr Gerard Burns The Church’s respect life stance is based on its faith in God as a creator and a wonder and awe at the beauty and mystery of creation. The first statement of the creed – and in fact in the sign of the cross we use so […]
June 2015 Feature Sr Anne Burke RSJ The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart were founded by Mary MacKillop – now St Mary of the Cross MacKillop – and Fr Julian Tenison Woods, in Penola South Australia in I866. This was in response to the need for education and care for children in […]
June 2015 Feature The United Nations’ World Refugee Day, observed on June 20 each year, honours the spirit and courage of millions of refugees worldwide and recognises their contributions to new communities. Wel-Com has invited a number people who came to New Zealand as refugees, and are now settled in Wellington and Palmerston North, to […]
June 2015 News Martin de Jong In the face of huge migrations of people in many parts of the world desperately seeking safety and a better life, Pope Francis has called for the ‘Church without frontiers … to welcome all people, without distinction or limits, in order to proclaim that “God is love” ’. Every […]
June 2015 Reflection Fr Patrick Bridgman Last month we began to look at the Sacraments in Service of Communion, initially discussing the Sacrament of Marriage. It is helpful to restate why Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders are described in that way: ‘Holy Orders and Matrimony are directed towards the salvation of others; if they […]
May 2015 Feature In a tribute to Mary, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Wel-Com has invited Catholic women from various roles within the Archdiocese of Wellington and the Diocese of Palmerston North to share some of their experiences and stories. Mary’s month Sr Josephine Gorman Mary mother of God, and our mother too, plays […]
May 2015 Schools Jeline Boldevino and Shreeya Patel Late last year, Holy Cross School in Miramar was one of three schools selected by Wellington City Council to pilot ‘Bikes in Schools’, a project that includes new bikes, helmets and purpose-built tracks within the school. Contractors completed three tracks during the summer break and the first […]
May 2015 News Simone Olsen Following their induction into the College of Cardinals in February, Cardinal John Dew of Wellington and Cardinal Soane Mafi of Tonga have been assigned by Pope Francis to offices in the Roman Curia – the central administrative body through which the Pope conducts global Church matters. Cardinal John has been […]
May 2015 Opinion Cardinal John Dew Over the last few weeks there have been touching and impressive stories about various events marking the 100 years since the start of World War One, and many events commemorating Gallipoli and the Anzacs. I was particularly moved when I saw an item on the news about a man […]