HAMILTON Six bishops, three Members of Parliament and Maori King Tuheitia were among hundreds of people who packed the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary for a Mass of rededication on November 7. Refurbishment of the cathedral, at a cost of $4.2 million, has drastically changed the building, which was originally built as a parish church but became a cathedral when Hamilton diocese was erected in 1980.
Bishop Denis Browne, who celebrated the rededication Mass, talked about the richness, dignity and sacredness of the refurbished cathedral.
This is our home, a place where God has come to live with us as people, the bishop said.
He invited people coming to the cathedral to consider it a pilgrimage, starting at home, and possibly climbing the new stairs leading from Grey St up to the new, grand entrance.
He compared that with biblical passages of climbing mountains as Moses, Jesus and countless others did to become closer to God.
Acknowledging King Tuheitias presence, Bishop Browne recalled the relationship between Hamilton diocese and Dame Te Atairangikaahu, the kings late mother.
Tumu te Heuheu, the paramount chief of Ngati Tuwharetoa and a cousin of the late Bishop Max Takuira Mariu, SM, was also at the rededication Mass and at a Maori ceremony earlier in the day.
Bishop Browne paid tribute to the work of many people involved with the project, giving special recognition to artist Michael Pervan, who restored and created several items for the cathedral.
See the next issue of NZ Catholic for more images of the refurbished cathedral
