Jubilee Year Pilgrimage Sites Announced
Pilgrimages are an important element of the Jubilee Year. The designated pilgrimage sites for our diocese are:
St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral
This is the current mother church of the Diocese since the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 when the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament was damaged and eventually demolished
Catholic Cathedral Parish – Catholic Diocese of Christchurch (catholiccathedralchch.org.nz)
373 Manchester Street, Christchurch
St Mary MacKillop Parish, Opihi
Opihi Parish - Catholic Diocese of Christchurch (cdoc.nz)
30 Wilkin Street, Temuka 7920
Mary MacKillop Chapel and Heritage Centre, 36 Studholme St, Temuka
Microsoft Word - Mary MacKillop Chapel and Heritage Centre Info Page.doc
Mary MacKillop visited Temuka a number of times during her visits to New Zealand. She prayed in the original part of the Chapel beside which the Heritage room is built. She was, and continues to be, an inspiration to the people of Temuka and the surrounding district.
St Patricks, Akaroa
29 Rue Lavaud, Akaroa
Akaroa Parish - Catholic Diocese of Christchurch (cdoc.nz)
Oldest church in the diocese. The first Catholics arrived in Akaroa in 1840. Bishop Pompallier celebrated his first Mass in the South Island here in August that year. The present church was built in 1865, the tower added in 1893. The church features beautiful stained glass windows. The altar that was crafted in Germany and gifted to the church in 1930. The church was completely renovated in 2018.
Sanctuary of Fourvière, Community of the Beatitudes.
67 Leithfield Road, Leithfield
Shrine of Our lady of Fourviere, retreat centre, place of prayer
Run by the Community of the Beatitudes. The name is taken from Fourvière in Lyon
The Shrine of Mary, Mother of Light has a replica golden statue that connects pilgrims to the first Catholic missionaries who came to Oceania and Aotearoa from Fourvière in Lyon, France. There, a golden statue of Mary stands on top of the Basilica at the top of the hill which overlooks the whole of the city.
Fourvière holds a huge significance for both New Zealand and France. Fourvière is central to the story of how the seed of Faith was first sewn in the soils of both nations and watered by the blood of their respective first martyrs.
