CHURCH OPENING
On 10 November 2002, the Foundation Stone was Laid & Blessed by Bishop Patrick Dunn of Auckland.
It was on the 18th May 2003 the new Church was dedicated and parish hall and administration block were opened and blessed by Bishop Patrick Dunn. Bishop Patrick Dunn served as Parish Priest for two years then went to the Auckland Catholic Diocesan.
We remain humbled before the almighty God for the New Church of St. Therese Parish on its dedication to serve Gods will.
WHY THE CHURCH IN MANGERE EAST WAS FORMED?
The parishioners living in Mangere East traveled to St Anthony’s Parish and some that lived near Onehunga also traveled to St Anthony Parish.
Many of the parishioners were also from the local pacific island communities like the Samoan Catholic Mangere East Autalavou (Group) and Tongan, Cook Island and Small Ethnic Groups also collaborated and combined to request to the Auckland Diocese that there was a need to open a church closer to the families that live in Mangere East.
St Therese Parish has grown through out the years, we are a multi-cultural parish with all walks of life from around the world. Our parishioners have a big heart to help the parish raise funds for the roof so that our generation and future generations will have a place of worship here at Mangere East. We also serve those within our community and outer regions we are not the riches of people, we serve as best as we can for Jesus to our community and welcome new and returning visitors and will continue to do so. Our parishioners help our community to serve the needy, feed the poor and visit the sick, spreading the gospel with our actions. We give all the glory to God in all that we do and seek no self glory giving all the praise and glory to God.
Our Patron Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin; January 2, 1873 – September 30, 1897) was a Roman Catholic French Discalced Carmelite nun widely venerated in modern times. She is popularly known as “The Little Flower of Jesus” or simply “The Little Flower”. Thérèse has been a highly influential model of sanctity for Catholics and for others because of the “simplicity and practicality of her approach to the spiritual life”. She is one of the most popular saints in the history of the church.
Thérèse felt an early call to religious life, and overcoming various obstacles, in 1888 at the early age of 15, she became a nun and joined two of her elder sisters in cloistered Carmelite community of Lisieux, Normandy. After nine years as a Carmelite religious, having fulfilled various offices such as sacristan and assistant to the novice mistress, and having spent her last eighteen months in Carmel in a night of faith, she died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. Her feast day is on October 1. Thérèse is well known throughout the world, with the Basilica of Lisieux being the second largest place of pilgrimage in France after Lourdes.
To learn more about Saint Thérèse of Lisieux “The Little Flower” please click on this link: http://www.littleflower.org/
Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ
Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ (15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909), now formally known as St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, was an Australian nun who has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. Of Scottish descent, she was born in Melbourne, but was best known for her activities in South Australia. Together with the Reverend Julian Tenison Woods, she founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephites), a congregation of religious sisters that established a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australasia, with an emphasis on education for the rural poor.
With the process to have MacKillop declared a saint having begun in the 1920s, she was beatified in January 1995 by Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008 and, in December 2009, approved the Catholic Church’s recognition of a second miracle attributed to her intercession.[1]She was canonised on 17 October 2010, during a public ceremony in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican.[2] She is the first and only Australian to be recognised by the Catholic Church as a saint.[3]
If you wish to find out more about Sister Mary Mackillop please click on this link: http://www.marymackillop.org.au/
