NauMai September 2021
Photo: Supplied
A new chapel at Ozanam House, which has been providing accommodation for cancer patients being treated at Palmerston North Hospital for over 50 years, was blessed and opened on July 20, this year.
Bishop Peter Cullinane presided, and Fr Robin Kurian from the local parish of St Mary’s was in attendance, along with the Ozanam House Trust Board members, past and present staff and Trustees, together with guests currently staying and some who had travelled back to Palmerston North especially for the occasion.
The Trust is grateful for the contribution made from the Estate of Dawn and Duncan Kennedy of New Plymouth, which assisted in the building of the chapel. The chapel is adorned with two stained-glass windows made by local artist, Sandy Hooper, and a simple wooden cross made with rimu taken from the first house erected by Ozanam House Trust, Vincentian Cottage, in 1967, by local joiner Trevor Goss. The service ended with an octet from the Manawatu Overtones singing a capella, Horatio Spafford’s ‘It is well with my Soul’.
Ozanam House is named after the founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society, Frederic Ozanam, whose feast day is on 9 September. Ozanam was a French lawyer and social-justice advocate who dedicated himself to improving social conditions for the poor and disadvantaged, and restoring the Catholic faith in France. The Society he founded, is the largest lay organisation in the Catholic Church. Frederic Ozanam died in 1853 at 40 years of age, his short life inspiring generations of Catholics across the world to put their faith into practical action.
The anniversary of the birth of the patron saint of the Society, St Vincent de Paul, is also celebrated this month on 27 September. St Vincent de Paul was a French Roman Catholic priest who lived in the 17th century and devoted his life to serving the poor and needy. He was canonised a saint in 1737. He established Confraternities of Charity in various towns to serve the poor and founded several religious orders to care for the sick and the poor.
Information from Glenys Brougham and Meg de Joux, administrators, The Ozanam House Trust.