Representing the oldest Religious Order in the Catholic Church these sisters, led by Mother Mary of Carmel, came to begin a foundation in Auckland at the invitation of Bishop (later Archbishop) Liston. Their first-class passage on the Awatea was paid for by him and he remained a lifelong, devoted friend and adviser to the community.

They stayed at first with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd at Waikowhai while they searched for a suitable convent in which to begin their life of prayer and penance. Theirs was to the second Carmel in New Zealand as the Carmelite sisters in Christchurch had established a Foundation four years earlier.

One of the founding sisters, Sister Mary Francis of the Angels, was only 19 at the time and now aged 95 is living at the Varroville Carmel in New South Wales. She recalls that the Awatea had a rough crossing, and all of sisters were sick except for their prioress, Mother Mary of Carmel.

Sister Francis writes that they spent most of the day of arrival on the deck, watching the coast. At 3pm they steamed into the Waitemata Harbour. “People were calling ‘Welcome to Auckland’ and as we came off the gangway they made a passage way for us and we had to walk through single file and listen to comments like, ‘They must fast a lot, look how white they are!’. Yes, we had fasted two whole days from seasickness!”

A few weeks later, on April 20th, the sisters moved from Waikowhai into their new home at 636 Mt Albert Road, Epsom, and so began their Carmelite monastic life in Auckland under the patronage of the Holy Family. The following year the chapel was built and dedicated to St Thomas the Apostle.

Large crowds gathered on Saturday 18 February to join Bishops Patrick Dunn, Robin Leamy and Stuart O’Connell, along with a large number of clergy, to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for the sisters’ 75 years in the city. Marquees were erected on the lawn in front of the chapel, and closed circuit television screens relayed the proceedings to the large numbers who could not fit into the chapel.

In his homily, Bishop Dunn paid tribute to all the sisters, both past and present, who have graced the Auckland Carmel. He described their Carmel as a place within the diocese where day and night prayers are offered to God. “Their lives are a great gift to the Church in Auckland and New Zealand. We want you to know how much we value and appreciate your presence, your prayers, your example and your faithfulness,” he said to the sisters.

The Administrator of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Monsignor Bernard Kiely, said that there is a special poignancy in tonight’s Ash Wednesday service. “Ashes remind us of the shortness of life’s journey. How poignant it is that this year’s Ash Wednesday falls on the first anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake in which so many lives were cut short,” he said.

The ceremony will begin with the lighting of a candle by the two bishops to commemorate those whose lives were lost in the Christchurch earthquake and its aftermath, while special prayers will be said for them and for all the people of Christchurch.

National Anthem provided by nationalanthems.info

Christine and her husband have come to New Zealand from Chicago, where Christine was assistant to the director of music at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral.

In addition to her experience as a Church musician, Christine has wide experience as a choral conductor and teacher of singing, as well as a mezzo soprano soloist. She is strongly committed to choral ministry and believes that it has an important part in embodying sacred text, and helping promote prayerfulness and beauty in the liturgy.

She plans to extend the cathedral choir’s existing repertoire as well as introducing new music which will include polyphony and chant, and a variety of musical styles in English as well as other languages.

The administrator of the Cathedral, Monsignor Bernard Kiely, in welcoming Christine to the cathedral says that he is very optimistic that the choir will go from strength to strength under Christine’s direction. “She brings an enthusiasm and skill that I believe will enliven both the choir and cathedral music in general,” he said.

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Duties include receptionist, telephone call management, mail, fleet management, diary management, filing, correspondence, accurate data entry and basic accounting & financial support.

For further information and job description contact reception@cssauckland.org.nz or Ph: 3789650.

Applications close Feb 23rd

“We hear much from our city’s leaders about how we want Auckland City to become a world-class city, because of its many attractions and its beautiful aspects,” said Bishop Pat Dunn, Catholic Bishop of Auckland, whose cathedral church is just two short blocks away from the proposed 15-storey brothel.

“The recent development of the Viaduct and the development of St Patrick’s Square has greatly enhanced the central city area,” Bishop Pat Dunn said.

“Our city cannot expect to be a beautiful, family-friendly place when the council allows the proliferation of such dubious activities right in our midst,” he said. “Instead, we are seeing the development of a decidedly tacky culture and the encouragement of activities which will harm the lives of large numbers of people.”

Bishop Dunn says it is ironical that only recently the childcare centre in the ANZ Centre, a short distance from the proposed new brothel, was demolished, in order to allow significant redevelopment of the site, bringing considerable inconvenience to families living in the central city area. “We see that financial advantage clearly outweighs the public good in decisions made by property developers and by our city fathers whose responsibility it is to promote the wellbeing of our citizens,” the bishop said.

For more information, contact Lyndsay Freer: phone 021 272 4895

To read an abridged version of the Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei please click here.

This report is intended to inform at a high level noting that comprehensive and audited financial statements for 2010 are available to those requiring more financial detail.

Click here to download a PDF of the report.