On a sunny Saturday morning, a gathering was held at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart that really embodied how diverse and inclusive the Catholic Church can be.

The event began with a Mass, as all good Catholic events should, celebrated by Archbishop Paul Martin. It was wonderful attending Mass at the recently reopened Cathedral. It is gloriously spacious.  Archbishop Paul gave a short talk at the end of Mass and told us how delighted he was that the event was taking place: “We now have a home in our Cathedral, and that home should be alive with activity.”

The ethnic communities in Wellington who attended were from Samoa, India, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Tonga, South America, and Zimbabwe, along with many others. As one, we enjoyed heart-felt worship, prayer, song, and that particular music that is found in sharing language, culture and kai.

After the Mass, there was kai and a hot drink, followed by a workshop and conversation. The previous gathering of this type was back in 2022, so there was a sense that this was overdue. One of the recommendations of the Archdiocesan Ethnic Review was for our communities to gather regularly. This event cemented that this would be the case from now on.

One of the event organisers, Deidre Meskill of Catholic Social Services, led a workshop, with the help of Fr. Gerard Burns, designed to find out the needs of each community. Questions included how the archdiocese can better support them, and in what ways do they support those in need within their own community? They also asked the lovely question: what was each community most proud of about themselves - what made them happy about themselves?  

Around sixty people attended, which meant that the conversation was broad and flowed well. Next time there will be more of a celebration of different aspects of culture, such as dance and music, as well as sharing cultural kai. Maya Bernando, co-organiser of the event, called the shared kai Agape Lunch, which means a 'love lunch'. We all need more of those.

As Archbishop Paul said in his Homily, “We are blessed to be diverse.”