HOKIANGA

Pompallier, 20 years ‘home’ in Aotearoa

WORDS: Niki Partsch IMAGES: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga

A look back at the return of Pompallier and the Hīkoi Tapu (Holy Journey) that preceded his third and final interment.

Buried first in a pauper’s grave, later transferred to the tomb of a wealthy family, Pompallier’s remains were eventually returned to Aotearoa following a request initiated by Māori Catholics.

Jean Baptiste Francois Pompallier was born on 11 December 1801 in Lyon, France. Growing up he probably never imagined the amazing voyages he would make or that he would travel by flying machine almost 130 years later to his final resting place. Pompallier was ordained as a priest in 1829, then as vicar apostolic, and just six months before leaving France in 1836 as a bishop. He travelled first to the Pacific Islands and later to Aotearoa where he landed in 1838.

Recognised for having a more enlightened view towards Māori culture than others of the time, he quickly became a fluent speaker of te reo Māori, learned as much as he could about the people and made himself known to them. From Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) he made extensive travels in and around the islands of Aotearoa.

Vividly present at Waitangi on the morning of 6 February 1840, Pompallier pressed Lieutenant-Governor Hobson to include a statement on religious tolerance within the Treaty to protect the Catholic faith. This is sometimes referred to as the unwritten "fourth article" of the Treaty, a statement in which the governor promises to protect and recognise certain named western religions and Māori customs. Once this was agreed, Pompallier left the gathering, a move designed to emphasise that his mission wasn't political, but religious. He returned to Europe three times but spent a significant time in Aotearoa New Zealand, eventually establishing 15 Mission Stations around the North Island, including one in Hokianga and another in the South Island at Akaroa. His work is foundational to the Catholic faith in Aotearoa, and particularly so in Te Tai Tokerau. The deep and enduring relationship, developed over multiple years and generations with northern Māori iwi, continues today and can be seen in the way that Catholicism has become entwined with Māori culture to the extent that it is present for many in daily life. Pompallier returned to France just three years before his passing on 21 December 1871. From the time of hearing of his death, there was a desire to have him returned to Aotearoa. It was not until the 1970s that plans by Māori Catholics were formed for his return and in 1998 a delegation visited his burial site in Lyon. This visit followed one made a year earlier by a delegation led by Bishop Dunn and Bishop Mariu. These visits ignited the pursuit of a seemingly impossible goal, to acquire the support of Pompallier’s family, the permission of the French government and the blessing of the Pope.

Emma Davis stands in contemplation at the front of Hata Maria (St Mary’s Church)

Final resting place of Bishop Pompallier.

In 2001 after much work, effort and perhaps divine intervention, a group of 37 led by Bishop Dunn, Pā Henare Tate and Marist Fr. Brian Prendeville began their Hīkoi Tapu (Holy Journey) to Rome where they would have an audience with Pope John Paul II. This visit was to acknowledge the fact that it was Pope Gregory XVI, the Pope’s tupuna (ancestor) in the faith who had sent Bishop Pompallier and the Marist Priests and Brothers to establish the Catholic faith in the western region of the Pacific Ocean. Emma Davis who was part of the group says of the experience “It was absolutely mīharo (wonderful). The faith, the story of Pompallier, everything just came together all the way through our journey.” A few days later the group travelled to France to make their preparations for the disinterment of Pompallier. A special ceremony took place in the cemetery of Puteaux at dawn on 9 January 2001 as the living, including the bishop’s living relatives and those who had been his companions in death for over a hundred years, were acknowledged and addressed by Pā Henare Tate. The remains were transferred and sealed by the French authorities, before being placed in a travelling casket. A service was held at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris before the group continued their pilgrimage via air back to Aotearoa. “The French and Italian people were absolutely fantastic; we could not have done all we did without them,” says Emma.

On 13 January 2002 Pompallier arrived back in Auckland and the sealed casket was transferred to a beautiful coffin carved from kauri. This special casket, which would carry Pompallier home to Hokianga, had been crafted by master carver George Dixon who described his work as telling 'the total story of the man'. In Auckland they spent time first at Whaiora Marae in Otara, then Ōrākei Marae, and later St Patrick’s Cathedral before travelling all over the country. His return drew much more attention than anticipated, and so the hīkoi was extended to allow for visits to more places. Sister Magdalen Sheahan (Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion) who was also part of the hīkoi says, “It was humbling yet joyous to be part of this hīkoi to bring Pīhopa Pomapārie home, considering all those who had gone before us who had longed for his return, and held his memory in their hearts: in naming children, in karanga to visiting bishops in the north, who were, and are still today welcomed in the footsteps of Bishop Pompallier. We were conscious of Wiki Hotere and the group who had tried to bring this about in 1977.” Finally on 18 April Pīhopa Pomapārie (Bishop Pompallier) reached his final resting place in Motutī. He was interred at Hata Maria (St Mary’s) where he lies near those who loved him. He is home, where he will continue to be remembered and revered. n

The Hīkoi Tapu (Holy Journey) travelled all over Aotearoa New Zealand with Pompallier’s beautifully carved coffin.

Stained glass window Hata Maria (St Mary’s Church).