by Fr ROBERT STEELE
A Pukekohe parish project for Divine Renovation, St Patrick’s Kids’ Choir, proposed by parish music leaders, was sadly put on hold on the eve of their debut at Mass way back in 2021 when the country went into lockdown.
Prior to the lockdown, some 35 children had enrolled, and attended practices and fittings for their free t-shirt. Mairead Gallagher-Pile and Annalyn Vicente first formed the Kids’ Choir in May, 2021, and ran several practices honing the children’s collective voice to perfection. All was ready for the Kids’ Choir to make their debut at the 10am Family Sunday Mass on August 22 last year.
Desiree Fermin, a member of the St Patrick’s Kids’ Choir.
While the children outgrew their free t-shirts over lockdown, their enthusiasm for the joy of music remained. This was helped by the patronage of Blessed Carlo Acutis, whom the children adopted as their heavenly big brother. Parishioners Joseph and Antonette Anton kindly donated a full-sized banner of the saint-to-be. The banner is put up when the children gather for practice.
And he was there when the choir finally made their debut on Sunday, September 11. The church overflowed with proud parents and friends of the Kids’ Choir members as they sang “Stand Up!!”, the Kyrie and Gloria and much more. Many said that theirs was a beautiful sound. The children formed a long recession line to the parish hall at the end of Mass singing “Sing Hosanna”, before standing proudly for a photo-shoot by parish photographer David Elliot.
Reader Interactions