Christchurch Knights of the Southern Cross act as
Our Lady's Sediarii
- taking their place at the front of the bier
carrying our replica of the statue of
Our Lady of Christchurch.
This Sunday our confreres in Christchurch, New Zealand,
participated in the annual Procession,
Consecration of the City and Diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
and Pontifical Benediction
which they had been asked to organise by the local ordinary,
His Lordship the Most Reverend Barry Jones, D.D.,
Bishop of Christchurch.
For the last few weeks we have been planning and advertising
this wonderful event throughout the Diocese,
primarily using this poster -
translated for other local communities into
Polish, Korean, Tagalog, Arabic and Greek.
Thanks be to God and Our Lady,
St Mary's pro-Cathedral was filled to capacity
as Bishop Jones, accompanied by
Bishop Emeritus Basil Meeking
with the Administrator of the pro-Cathedral, Fr Friel,
as well as more than a dozen priests
led around 500 faithful from the Diocese
in an Act of Homage
to our
Heavenly Queen.
Many of the faithful had made banners in the last weeks
and these were evident in the lateral isle on the Gospel side.
Representatives of the Legion of Mary,
the Catholic Women's League,
the Knights of the Southern Cross,
as well the Keralite, Filipino, Korean,
Polish, Vietnamese,
Maori, Coptic, Ethiopian and Samoan communities,
members of the Marist, the Marist Brothers,
the Community of St John
the Marist Sisters
the Sisters of Nazareth and of the Beatitudes
many schools and parishes
joined in with the Bishop
the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer
and of course our own traditional Catholics who had come from
all over South Island to be there.
The City of Christchurch Highland Pipe Band accompanied us
as we processed around the pro-Cathedral
and along Manchester Street.
The beautiful replica of Our Lady of Christchurch
which we carried in the procession.
The Queen of this City
crushes the old serpent
and extends her benign reign
over New Zealand!
At the end of the procession as the trumpet rang out
Our Lady of Christchurch
was crowned before His Lordship the Bishop
by little Esther
who had received Our Lord for the
first time that morning
in Our Mother of Perpetual Succour Oratory.
What a great grace to be able to see
the City and Diocese Consecrated again to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Our very great thanks to all those who helped
in many and varied ways
to make the day most memorable
no less for its bright sunshine on a day
predicted to be overcast and awaiting snow!
To read more about the protecting image
of Our Lady of Christchurch
and to see more images please visit
Our Lady of Christchurch Facebook page.
The splendid photographs
for this blog were provided
by
Abi Wiseman Photography.
- taking their place at the front of the bier
carrying our replica of the statue of
Our Lady of Christchurch.
This Sunday our confreres in Christchurch, New Zealand,
participated in the annual Procession,
Consecration of the City and Diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
and Pontifical Benediction
which they had been asked to organise by the local ordinary,
His Lordship the Most Reverend Barry Jones, D.D.,
Bishop of Christchurch.
For the last few weeks we have been planning and advertising
this wonderful event throughout the Diocese,
primarily using this poster -
translated for other local communities into
Polish, Korean, Tagalog, Arabic and Greek.
Thanks be to God and Our Lady,
St Mary's pro-Cathedral was filled to capacity
as Bishop Jones, accompanied by
Bishop Emeritus Basil Meeking
with the Administrator of the pro-Cathedral, Fr Friel,
as well as more than a dozen priests
led around 500 faithful from the Diocese
in an Act of Homage
to our
Heavenly Queen.
Many of the faithful had made banners in the last weeks
and these were evident in the lateral isle on the Gospel side.
Representatives of the Legion of Mary,
the Catholic Women's League,
the Knights of the Southern Cross,
as well the Keralite, Filipino, Korean,
Polish, Vietnamese,
Maori, Coptic, Ethiopian and Samoan communities,
members of the Marist, the Marist Brothers,
the Community of St John
the Marist Sisters
the Sisters of Nazareth and of the Beatitudes
many schools and parishes
joined in with the Bishop
the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer
and of course our own traditional Catholics who had come from
all over South Island to be there.
The City of Christchurch Highland Pipe Band accompanied us
as we processed around the pro-Cathedral
and along Manchester Street.
The beautiful replica of Our Lady of Christchurch
which we carried in the procession.
The Queen of this City
crushes the old serpent
and extends her benign reign
over New Zealand!
At the end of the procession as the trumpet rang out
Our Lady of Christchurch
was crowned before His Lordship the Bishop
by little Esther
who had received Our Lord for the
first time that morning
in Our Mother of Perpetual Succour Oratory.
What a great grace to be able to see
the City and Diocese Consecrated again to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Our very great thanks to all those who helped
in many and varied ways
to make the day most memorable
no less for its bright sunshine on a day
predicted to be overcast and awaiting snow!
To read more about the protecting image
of Our Lady of Christchurch
and to see more images please visit
Our Lady of Christchurch Facebook page.
The splendid photographs
for this blog were provided
by
Abi Wiseman Photography.
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