WelCom August 2022
On Saturday 18 June, the day before the 187th birthday of Meri Hōhepa Suzanne Aubert was celebrated, the Compassion Soup Kitchen was blessed with a visit by the Governor-General of New Zealand, Dame Cindy Kiro, and His Excellency Richard Davies. Dame Cindy attended the evening meal service as a volunteer to wait on whānau guests with a hot meal.
She highlighted the work of the Compassion Soup Kitchen in continuing Mother Aubert’s remarkable legacy of supporting people in need in our community.
The following day, 19 June, with music by the pupils of St Mary College and a large attendance, the 187th birthday of Meri Hōhepa Suzanne Aubert was celebrated with a special Mass ceremony held in the Chapel of Our Lady’s Home of Compassion, Island Bay, Wellington.
Cardinal John Dew led the ceremony. During his homily he recalled the virtues and legacy of Meri Hōhepa Suzanne Aubert, highlighting her spirituality was always based on the presence of God in her life and that the grace of the ‘present moment’ allowed her to do wonderful things for God.
‘We remember Suzanne, we can learn from her, from her writings, her sayings, her wisdom, and we give thanks for her example of showing us what our human life can be,’ he said.
Cardinal John also highlighted how Meri Hōhepa had a heart full of love for all, saying, ‘Let us have a heart like an artichoke and so big that everyone can have a leaf of it’.
The 187th-anniversary celebration recalled the precious legacy of Suzanne Aubert, who was born 19 June 1835 in Saint-Symphorien-de-Lay, near Lyon in France, and emigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1860.
Meri Hōhepa Suzanne Aubert was an outstanding teacher, nurse, innovator in the field of health care, pioneer of social welfare, and advocate for disadvantaged children, the poor and the sick ‘of all faiths and none’.