TOTARA POINT About 150 people attended Mass at Totara Point in the Far North on January 10, marking the anniversary of the first Mass celebrated on New Zealand soil. Principal celebrant Bishop of Auckland Patrick Dunn told those present that January 10, 1838, was the date Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier first arrived in New Zealand.

The first Mass was celebrated three days later in the home of Thomas and Mary Poynton.

Bishop Dunn wore Bishop Pompalliers pectoral cross for the occasion and a chasuble from World Youth Day in Paris in 1997.

Concelebrating priests were Pa Tony Brown, Pa Henare Tate, Fr Bernard Dennehy, Fr Ricardo Bugas, MSP, and Fr George Sao.

Fr Sao, from New Caledonia, attended the disinterment of Bishop Pompalliers remains in Paris in 2001. Fr Sao was studying in France at the time.

He brought three young poeple with him to New Zealand to attend the Mass and reconnect with the Pompallier story.

Fr Sao will take up an appointment to the Pacific Regional Seminary in Fiji this year.

Bishop Pompalliers remains were interred in St Mary’s Church at nearby Motuti in 2002. The area has become a popular pilgrimage destination.