WelCom June 2020:
Congratulations to Our Lady of Kāpiti Parish – Te Whaea Tapu o Kāpiti on the blessing and opening of their new church and parish complex, Saturday 30 May 2020. For the last six years, the parish community has worked tirelessly to build their new church and parish centre, which sits alongside their three-year-old school and hall.
Kuia Pauline Takiwa greeted Cardinal John Dew, Archbishop of Wellington, parish priest, Fr Michael McCabe, Fr Owen Sinclair, as well as Fr Alan Roberts and Fr Raymond Soriano, as they entered the new church with 100 parishioners gathered to celebrate the blessing, opening and Mass together.In his homily Cardinal John said, ‘In years to come the community that gathers here should have always been able to remember this church was blessed and opened on Palm Sunday as people gathered here at the beginning of Holy Week. But it was not to be. Palm Sunday came on 6 April, the Church remained closed. The doors were locked! The doors of the country were locked, we were all in lockdown.
‘Today, Pentecost, is in some ways an even better day than Palm Sunday. “In the evening of the first day of the week, the followers of Jesus were locked in a room – in fear, they were set free by the Holy Spirit to go out, they were sent out in the same way Jesus was sent by the Father. That will happen to all who come to this church, you will gather with one another, you will be given different gifts by the Spirit of God. “The purpose of being with Jesus is to go forth from Jesus in his power and with his grace”.
‘Human beings build sacred places to remember. This Church was built so we could remember the words of Jesus “Do this in Memory of Me”. We need our memorials, we need our Holy Places, our churches, not “to escape life”, but rather “to memorialise it’. Here today we bring to mind what is at “the heart of the mystery of our salvation,” the life-giving passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the gift of His Spirit.’
The parish has an open day for visitors at the new church and parish centre, 10am to 3pm, Saturday 6 June. WelCom’s supplement documenting the creation of the new church and parish centre can be downloaded from this link: https://www.wn.catholic.org.nz/adw_welcom/our-lady-of-kapiti-supplement/
Members of the parish community of Our Lady of Kāpiti – Te Whaea Tapu o Kāpiti, gathered over the weekend of Pentecost, 30 and 31 May, for the blessing and opening of their new church and parish complex and to celebrate Mass together. Photos: Bernie Velasco, Parishioner