In Memory

"To die is to go to God; to go to God is to go home.” How often have we heard Fr Pene say this at a funeral? We were all shocked to hear of the sudden death of our beloved Father Penehe Patelesio. My deep sympathy to his family as we join with them in mourning his loss.

As a teenager Pene came to Viard College to perfect his already very good English. He had a maturity even then which marked him out. After a stint with the Divine Word Fathers in Melbourne, Australia and then in Bolivia, South America he returned to New Zealand to the Diocesan Seminary and was ordained a priest at our Holy Family Church on 5th December 1987. We also celebrated his Silver Jubilee here. He was our Parish Priest for over 20 years, leading us through some troubled times and always doing his very best for our parish and our communities. As well as being chaplain to the Tokelauan people and to the local police he worked for safety at work and in homes through Porirua Safe Community and Peace in Families. One of his great strengths was conducting funerals where he put the mourners at ease and had a good knowledge of the person who had died.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

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- Sr Anne Phibbs

Fr Andrew was a great servant of Christ and true missionary of the Gospel. May he rest in the loving heart of Mother Mary and be welcomed into eternal life. He was our well-loved former Parish Priest at Holy Family from 2019 to 2023. Sunrise: 3 January 1965- Sunset: 15 August 2025. Please keep Fr. Andrews family in prayers as well as our MF Congregation at this time.

Isaiah 52: 7 “Blessed are the feet that bring good news”.

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Rex Begley passed away on 21 January 2026. His Requiem Mass took place on 25January at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Palmerston North, followed by his inter at Whenua Tapu Cemetery in Porirua. Rex served as a curate at Holy Family from 1977 to 1979 and was the Parish Priest from 1980 to 1982.
 
After leaving priesthood, Rex married Theresa Craven, and together they held various positions within the Palmerston North Diocese. They spent three years at Southern Cros Monastery (Kopua) before moving to Jerusalem/Hiruharama along the Wanganui River, and later to the Wairarapa. He was a humble and gentle man.
 
May his soul rest in peace.