Our Church History
The First Parish Priest
The first parish priest of Wellington (and Porirua), Fr Michael Borjon, perished at sea before setting foot in Wellington. He was appointed parish priest of Wellington in 1842 and sailed from Auckland on 1 August 1842 but the brig did not reach its destination, the wreckage being washed up on the shores of Cook Strait.
The next parish priest was Fr Jeremiah O’Riely, OFM who arrived in Port Nicholson in January 1843. He plodded the hills and bush tracks over the whole of the Wellington district ministering to the 600 Catholics in the Province. It is likely that the first Mass in the Porirua Basin was celebrated by Fr Comte, SM at the Maori Pa in Takapuwahia. On 30 June, 1850, three people from the pa were baptized, followed by others on 27th July 1850. Catholics from the Porirua Basin belonged to the Wellington parish until 1850 when Porirua became part of Lower Hutt.
The first Catholic Church in the Porirua Basin was built at Pauatahanui, and a grand opening was held on April 28th 1878 attended by Bishop Redwood and the Catholics of Pauatahanui and Porirua. From that time on Father Yardin came over from the Hutt every two months for Mass and held Catechism classes in the afternoon. Father John Joseph Lane was a colourful character who was appointed parish priest of the Hutt, which included Porirua, on 19th February 1886. He rode a bay horse and wore shining black high-topped boots as he travelled the tracks over the Hayward hills and down the Tawa Valley – saying Mass, baptizing, absolving, marrying, counselling, comforting the sick.
The Rev. Father T. Duffy stands before the new Holy Family Parish church, Porirua East, which was blessed by Bishop Snedden on Janaury 30.
The Brigidine Sisters
Two hundred and seventeen years ago in the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, Ireland, Bishop Daniel Delany trained young women and young women in his Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament and Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD). This was to combat the lawlessness, destitution and unrest in Ireland resulting from lack of education. It was a time when Catholic men, women and children were denied human and religious freedom. On 1st February 1807, in Tullow, County Carlow, he invited six of his catechists to become the first Brigidine Sisters. He gave them a simple rule of life, based on the Rule of St Augustine and permeated with the gentle spirit of Francis de Sales.
Bishop Delany chose St Brigid as the patroness of the new congregation because he saw her as a valiant woman, strong and gracious, a prophetic leader of men and women in 5th century Ireland who had done much to revolutionize the Irish society of her time. In fact, he insisted that he was not founding a new congregation but rather, re-founding the Sisters of St Brigid. On that first day he gave the sisters some guidelines for living which include:
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To perform all their actions for the love of God and with a view to pleasing Him
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To live together so united as to have but one heart and one soul in God
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To begin every day with the same earnestness in God’s service as they had on that first day
He also bestowed upon the Brigidines his motto, Fortiter et Suaviter, which translates to strength and gentleness, now embraced by many schools founded by the Brigidines.
Bishop Delany's small group of Sisters expanded, leading to the establishment of additional convents and schools in Ireland. Eventually, a call came from Australia for Sisters to serve there, followed by a request from New Zealand for Brigidine Sisters in Masterton. In December 1898, six Irish Sisters embarked on the Monowai in Sydney, beginning their mission in New Zealand, where they founded fifteen primary schools and co-founded two colleges, primarily in the lower North Island, with two located in Auckland.
Brigidines to Porirua
This was the first Catholic School in Porirua, opening its doors on 8th February 1953. The building was located behind Sacred Heart Church, which was then situated where the Mobil now stands, across from Bishop Viard College Drive. Constructed from prefabricated materials leftover from the Marine camp in Titahi Bay, the school quickly grew in enrollment, necessitating the use of the church as a classroom. The Brigidine Sisters, who taught at the school, traveled daily by train and bus from Johnsonville, with the initial teachers being Mother Columcille from Kilkenny, Ireland, and Sr Jean-Marie from Foxton, New Zealand.
The original St Francis Xavier's situated in Kenepuru Drive, Porirua
St Pius X School in Titahi Bay opened in May 1954, with teachers commuting from Johnsonville. By 1958, the Johnsonville Convent was overcrowded, leading Sr Michael (Australian), Sr Killian (Irish), and Sr Gerard (New Zealander) to sleep in the office at St Pius X until a local woman offered them her beach house. Space was tight as they were later joined by three Kiwi Sisters and another Australian. A small house was purchased on Terrace Road, Titahi Bay, where the eight Sisters resided until the convent was established at 167 Mungavin Ave, Porirua.
The new convent was blessed and opened on November 1, 1959, but it faced ongoing challenges. The building was incomplete, with rain leaking through the flat roof and significant leaks in most rooms, particularly the chapel. Unfortunately, the construction company went into liquidation, leaving the Sisters with debt and no recourse for repairs.
At that time, with no church available, three classrooms were converted into a church each weekend, a common practice in many Brigidine schools.
Holy Family Church being constructed
View from bottom field of Holy Family School
Holy Family School opened on 2 February 1960 with all classes filled. The official opening took place on 28th February 1960. Over the years the Brigidine Sisters who taught at Holy Family School have been a mix of New Zealanders, Australians and Irish.
The school rolls just grew and grew with a population explosion in the dormitory suburbs of Porirua, Elsdon and Titahi Bay. There was also an urgent need for a Catholic College to meet the needs of Secondary pupils in the area. Archbishop McKeefry outlined a new and challenging concept. He envisaged two autonomous colleges on the one campus, each with its own Principal. Probably he did not envisage the “aeroplane college” that eventuated with two wings joined to a central body containing common facilities - the hall, library and science block.
Viard College was very innovative as it led the way in co-education in New Zealand Catholic Colleges; it was the first Form 1 - 7 College in an urban area and was staffed by two religious Congregations, the Assumptionist Fathers and the Brigidine Sisters. On 4th February 1968 the Sisters welcomed one hundred and thirty-nine girls (Forms 1 and 2 only at the beginning) and the Fathers welcomed a similar number of boys. Each year a new form level was added, and further building was needed to accommodate senior classes when the roll reached its peak of 700. Viard College was renamed Bishop Viard College in the late 1990’s. Innovative, exciting and forward-thinking when it was founded Viard College developed a real famil spirit. It made a difference then and continues to make a difference today.
The Convent which had once housed twenty-three Brigidines was too big for the six who remained after some deaths and some Sisters returning to their home countries, so it was sold in 1988 to the Housing Corporation to become emergency housing and offices for various welfare groups. There is now only one Brigidine left in Holy Family Parish.
The First Catholic Church
The first Catholic Church in the area was St Joseph’s, Pauatahanui. After the building of the psychiatric hospital in Porirua (1887) the population grew, and a Catholic Church was erected on land in Kenepuru Drive donated by the wife of the proprietor of the Porirua Hotel. The Church was dedicated to the Sacred Heart and was blessed by Archbishop Redwood on March 15th 1903. For nearly 50 years it was the only church for Catholics living in Porirua, Tawa Flat, Elsdon and Titahi Bay. It is now on the grounds of Bishop Viard College and since 1999 has been the church for Te Ngakau Tapu.
In 1958 Porirua, Titahi Bay and Elsdon became a separate parish from Tawa and Linden. Holy Family School commenced in 1960 and was used as a Mass Centre from 4th October 1959 until Holy Family Church was opened. After 8 years of using Holy Family School for Mass the first parish celebration in the new Holy Family Church was Midnight Mass of Christmas 1965. At a cost of £17,000 Holy Family Church was considered to be the most economically built church in New Zealand. Another bargain, Griffin Hall, was an army building bought in 1961 from Trentham Camp for £50. Shifting costs and reconstruction brought the total cost to £1000. Before being condemned the hall gave good service for around 50 years. Holy Family School built a lovely hall on the site of Griffiin Hall and the Parish is fortunate in also having the use of this hall.
As the Catholic population around Waitangirua and Ascot Park grew, a Church was needed in that area. St John of the Cross was officially opened on 11th March 1984 by Cardinal Thomas Williams, who had been Parish Priest of Holy Family Parish 1976 - 1979.
Religious Orders: The Brigidine Sisters came to live in the Parish in 1959 but had been working at St Francis Xavier’s School, located behind Sacred Heart Church, since 8th February 1953. They commuted from Johnsonville.
The Little Sisters of the Assumption took up residence in 1973 although one Sister had been commuting each day from Petone since 1969, helping people re-settle in the Porirua area.
The Assumptionist Fathers, who had previously taught at Viard College, worked in the parish from 1989 - 1992. The Missionary Sisters of Charity began their mission in Porirua on 15th August 2001. They care for the most vulnerable and assist with the Sacramental Programme, and with distribution of Holy Communion to the sick and they enhance parish life in many ways.
The Missionaries of Faith were formally welcomed to the Parish on Sunday, 3rd February 2019. They now have the pastoral care of Holy Family Parish, Porirua.
The reality of Holy Family Parish. Holy Family Parish, Porirua East, is best described as being rich in everything except money. It is rich in the many different cultures that make up our congregation. It is rich in its tradition of faith. Itmis rich in music, It is rich in a spirituality of service. It is truly a family.
