St Vincent de Paul Society’s New Plymouth branch has a new base following the sale of the parish’s suburban church of St Paul in Spotswood .
Their depot of many years next to the church had of necessity been demolished as the property changed hands.
Members and guests gathered to celebrate the blessing and opening of the new building next to St Joseph’s parish school. Fr Manus Lyons officiated, and Anne Marie McCarten, national administrator, performed the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon.
Meanwhile the school principal, Mike Dowd, expressed great pleasure in the proximity of the facility which now provides an excellent link for the school community with one of the longest-standing voluntary care services of the church.
Mike also told the story of the moggie who arrived out-of-the-blue on the day builders moved in to start work. He made himself at home immediately and is now a valued member of the school family.
The children promptly named him Vincent (Vinny). He knows a thing or two for sure wandering over to the blessing ceremony, purring contentedly on the step, while waiting to be introduced.
Images: Top: St Vincent de Paul regional chaplain, Sr Patricia Barrett RNDM, Taranaki regional chair, Bernard Lyon, national administrator, Anne Marie McCarten, project coordinator, Trevor Knuckey, after the blessing.
Above: School principal, Mike O’Dowd, with Vinnie the cat.
O’Shea Shield 2021
WelCom June/July 2021 The Year of St Joseph In this special year of St Joseph, it is fitting Hato Hōhepa – St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College, Napier, have won the…
Support the COVID-19 vaccination programme
WelCom June/July 2021 The New Zealand Catholic Bishops and the Nathaniel Centre for Bioethics have started a campaign to provide accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine, which is being rolled…
MFAT deal multiplies donations to Caritas
WelCom June/July 2021 Michael Fitzsimons Donors to Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand will have their donations multiplied fourfold, thanks to a new funding partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and…