People pray in the rosary chapel at St Joseph’s church, Te Aroha.
A rosary chapel and memorial windows were blessed and dedicated at St Joseph’s church in Te Aroha on July 22, the feast of St Mary Magdalen.
Parish priest Fr Mark Field told NZ Catholic that a former baptistry at the church is no longer used, so a decision was made that the space would be a good rosary chapel.
The area had 25 basic windows already in place. New ones based on the mysteries of the rosary and on the “Hail Mary” have been created and installed, with each window a memorial, dedicated to a deceased parishioner or family member, and sponsored by a parishioner.
At the Mass on July 22, after a prayer of blessing and dedication, the names of those remembered in the windows were read out, and a gong was sounded after each one, followed by a moment of silence.
About 100 people were present at the Mass, Fr Field said.
Michael Pervan completed the artwork for the windows, and David Gianotti the iconography. Fr Field said that the reaction from parishioners has been very positive, and can be summarised in one word, “Wow”.
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