Founder of the Marist Brothers, the order Brother Humphrey, Joseph & Chanute belongs to.

Marcellin was declared a Saint in 1999; his feast day is celebrated on 6 June.

Marcellin Joseph Benedict Champagnat was born on a farm in a remote part of France on the 20th of May 1789. This was the same year as the French Revolution, which was one reason why by the time he was 14 he had only one day at school. Later this made him make up his mind to start up a group of brothers to teach children in remote country areas, like his, who would otherwise have no chance of ever going to school. This simple idea spread throughout many parts of the world. Brother Colombon arrived with Bishop Pompallier in the Hokianga on the 10th of January 1838. In 1876 two brothers began a school in Freeman’s Bay, Auckland.

Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, the order Sister Bernadette & Irenaeus belong to (they were the last Sisters at Pompallier Catholic School)

Mercy feast day is celebrated on the 24th of September.

Catherine McAuley, a rich, witty, Irish woman, decided to do something practical for the poor and needy people of Ireland during the 19th Century. So she founded the sisters of mercy (mercy = God’s loving kindness). To teach, nurse, and visit the sick. They came to New Zealand on the 9th of April 1850. The sisters of Mercy were the first teachers at Pompallier; they taught here from 1958 to 1988. The sisters of Mercy, including our sister Bernadette taught at Pawarenga from 1927 to 1985. They also run St Mary’s College in Ponsonby, and the Mercy Hospital in Epsom.

Suzanne Aubert was a woman of great hope and trust in God’s care of her and the work of compassion. She stated: “If you do not place your confidence in Providence, where will you place it? You can do nothing, say nothing, think nothing, but by the good pleasure of God! Jesus is our hope, our Saviour…Let us abandon ourselves to Him without reserve, and He will grant us such joy, such peace…” (Directory 22-23, page 185)

The Sisters of Compassion today
If we work together we can succeed. Mehemea ka mahi tahi taua tera ano e taea.
The spirit of Suzanne Aubert lives on today in the work of the Sisters of Compassion.
At the time of Suzanne Aubert’s death there were 70 Sisters of Compassion. In the 1930s, true to her plans, many sisters qualified as nurses and over the years sisters gained further qualifications in specialist areas including the care of disabled children.
Today, the Sisters of Compassion continue to work actively towards the relief of human suffering. They are engaged in social work, pastoral care, prison and hospital chaplaincies, education, working with refugee and disadvantaged migrant communities, residential and home care of the sick and the elderly and support of people developing home gardens.
Continuing in the Spirit of Suzanne Aubert

St Peter Chanel was the first Saint and Martyr of the Pacific

Peter Chanel left France in 1837 with Bishop Pompallier for the Pacific Islands. The Pope had just told the newly formed Society of Mary (Marists) to take the news of Jesus Christ to the people of the Western Pacific. The King of Samoa became jealous of Father Chanel’s goodness and popularity and had him murdered on the 28th of April 1841.His body was taken to Pompallier House in Russell and it stayed there for many years. Father Chanel was declared a Saint in 1954, we celebrate his feast day on the 28th of April.