For All the Saints - of Lyon

On the 1st of November we celebrate the feast of All Saints and we remember the saints - including our our family members and friends - who now share the glory of God. Today we remembered the saints of Lyon who foundation stones of the Church in Aotearoa New Zealand...

Morning Prayer

Matthew 1:1-16

A genealogy of Jesus Christ son of Davis, son of Abraham:

Abraham is the son of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother,
Perez was the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram was the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab was the father of Nahsohon,
Nahsohon the father of  Salmon,
Salmon was the father of Boaz, Raheb being his mother,
Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother,
Obed was the father of Jesse;
and Jesse was the father of King David.
 
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah,
Abijah was the father of Asa,
Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram,
Joram was the father of Azariah,
Azariah was the father of Jotham,
Jotham was the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah,
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh was the father of Amon,
Amon was the father of Josiah,
and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers.
Then the deportation to Babylon took place.
After the deportation to Babylon:
Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud,
Abiub the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
 
Azor was the father of Zodok,
Zadok the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eluid,
Eluid was the father of Eleazer,
Eleazer the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob;
and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary;
of her was born Jesus who is Christ.

Reflection

Jesus Christ proclaimed his Gospel

A man called John heard him
He became a believer, an Apostle... 
and he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ

A man called Polycarp heard him
He became a believer, a bishop in a city called Smyrna in modern day Turkey...
and he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ

A man called Ireneaus heard him
He became a believer, a bishop in a city called Lyon in modern day France...
and he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Some 1600 years after Ireneaus was martyred in Lyon

A child was born in Lyon, Jean Baptiste Pompallier
He became a believer, a bishop ordained here

a bishop for a region called Western Oceania
in a land called New Zealand
in a Diocese called Auckland
This is the whakapapa, the genealogy of our faith in the Church in New Zealand

It is a true whakapapa
because faith dwells in the hearts of believers. 

The Cathedral of Sts John the Baptist and Stephen

Where Jean Baptiste Pompallier was ordained a priest 

St Stephen

St John the Baptist

Jean Baptiste François Pompallier (1801–1871) was born in Lyon, France, on 11 December 1801, he was the third son of Françoise and Pierre Pompallier. His father died when Jean Baptiste was just eight months old, and his mother later married Jean Marie Solichon, a silk manufacturer. Raised in a cultured environment, Pompallier received the education of a gentleman and briefly served as an officer of dragoons. He also worked in the silk trade, likely with his stepfather.

In 1825, he entered the seminary in Lyon and was ordained a priest in 1829. He served for seven years in the archdiocese of Lyon, where he became closely associated with the newly formed Society of Mary and its founder, Jean-Claude Colin. In 1836, Pope Gregory XVI appointed him the first Vicar Apostolic of Western Oceania, and he was consecrated bishop of Maronea.

Pompallier arrived in New Zealand in 1838, celebrating the first Catholic Mass at Totara Point. He worked closely with Māori communities, learning their language and tikanga. He was unusual for his time in terms of his dialogue with Māori and his capacity to connect tikanga Māori with tikanga Katorika. He played a key role in ensuring religious freedom during the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, helping to secure the inclusion of protections for Catholics and Māori.

Despite tensions with other missionaries and internal challenges, Pompallier established missions, schools, and churches across New Zealand. He was not, however, a good administrator and returned to France in 1868 with the Diocese of Auckland in severe financial difficulty. He died in Paris in 1871. 

In 2002, his remains were returned to New Zealand and reinterred in Motuti, honoring his deep connection to the land and its people. 

Mass at St Nizier

The Parish Priest of Suzanne Aubert

Readings at Mass

Revelation 7:2-4,9-14

I, John, saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard how many were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.

After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, ‘Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words, ‘Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’

One of the elders then spoke, and asked me, ‘Do you know who these people are, dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?’ I answered him, ‘You can tell me, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.’

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
Those with clean hands and pure heart,
who desire not worthless things.

They shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves them.
Such are the ones who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.

1 John 3:1-3

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by letting us be called God’s children; 
and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge him,
therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the children of God
but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is.
Surely everyone who entertains this hope
must purify themselves, must try to be as pure as Christ.

Matthew 5:1-12

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How blessed are the poor in spirit; 

    theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the gentle:
    they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Blessed are those who mourn:
    they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
    they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful:
    they shall have mercy shown them.
Blessed are the pure in heart:
    they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers:
    they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
    theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

Reflection

The place of the pews you are sitting is where Suzanne Aubert used to sit when she prayed here who we hope will be our first saint. She was just a normal young woman but the Lord touched her heart and she desired to be a missionary.

St Niziers is a church of missionaries. In here is remembered Frederic Oznam who founded the Society of St Vincent de Paul. In here is Pauline Jarricot who founded the Pontifical Mission Society that funded missions including the mission to New Zealand. And our Suzanne Aubert who was assured by St John Vianney that her desire to be a missionary would be fulfilled despite her parents objections. She came back to New Zealand with Pompallier in 1860, a single young woman. On the way her taught her Māori and she want on to establish our own Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion. Compassion was the word put on her heart. 

A Jesuit priest wrote a book called the Personal Vocation. He suggested each of us has our own personal vocation in the midst of our vocation in life. For Jesus, his personal vocation could be summed up in the name - Abba Father - Everything was for the Father. For Therese of Lisieux it was being love in the midst of the Church. For Suzanne it was compassion.

This church and the people who worshipped here remind us we are all called to be saints, saints with perhaps a word or phrase that shapes who we are. Perhaps today, consider what your word might be. 

Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) was a French Catholic scholar, lawyer, and social reformer born in Milan and raised in Lyon. Deeply committed to his faith, he struggled with religious doubts in his youth but found clarity through prayer and mentorship. While studying law at the Sorbonne in Paris, he defended Catholicism against criticism and sought to live out his beliefs through action.

In 1833, challenged to prove his faith through deeds, Ozanam and a group of fellow students founded the Conference of Charity, which later became the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Inspired by the charitable works of Sister Rosalie Rendu and guided by the spirit of Saint Vincent de Paul, the society focused on serving the poor with compassion and dignity.

Ozanam also taught law and literature, wrote extensively on social justice, and advocated for Catholic involvement in democratic reform. He was beatified in 1997, and his legacy continues through the global work of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Pauline Jaricot (1799–1862) was a French laywoman and social reformer born in Lyon. Deeply devoted to her Catholic faith, she experienced a profound conversion at age 17, leading her to dedicate her life to prayer, charity, and evangelization. In 1822, she founded the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a pioneering initiative to support Catholic missions worldwide through prayer and small donations. Later, in 1826, she established the Living Rosary, encouraging communal prayer and devotion to Mary. Despite illness and setbacks, Pauline remained committed to serving the poor and spreading the Gospel. She was beatified in 2022.

Suzanne Aubert (1835–1926) was born in Saint-Symphorien-de-Lay, near Lyon, France. Raised in a devout Catholic family, her mother Clarice worked in Church welfare, while her father Louis was a court official. A traumatic childhood accident left her temporarily blind and crippled, deepening her empathy for the suffering and disabled. Her education, delayed by illness, flourished under Benedictine nuns in La Rochette, where she excelled in music, languages, and literature.

Living in Lyon, Suzanne felt a strong call to religious life, which her parents opposed. She sought guidance from Saint Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars, who affirmed her vocation and predicted her missionary future. In 1860, she left Lyon secretly to join Bishop Pompallier’s mission to New Zealand.  

Arriving in Auckland, she worked with Māori communities, eventually founding the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion in 1892. Her work combined Māori medicine with Western science, and she authored books in Māori, English, and French. She established homes for the poor, sick, the elderly and abandoned, she advocated for vulnerable women and children opening the first creche for working women in New Zealand and established Wellington’s enduring soup kitchen.

Suzanne Aubert died in 1926, revered for her compassion and service. Her beatification process began in 2010.

Suzanne Aubert’s words for the way of hope…

Let us carefully cultivate hope, that small flower which we should always bring to those in need.

Jesus is our hope, our Saviour… Let us abandon ourselves to Him without reserve, and He will grant us such joy, such peace.

Our life should be a long act of faith, hope and charity. It should combine the life of Martha and Mary, walking arm in arm together and never separated. Faith, hope and charity are like a trinity of distinct though indivisible virtues of which faith is the Father, hope the Son, and charity the Holy Spirit.

A kind heart is the joy of everyone who comes in contact with it.

Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourvière

The Society of Mary, (or as we know them, the Marists) is another fruit of the post revolution time of  French history. Amid the spiritual upheaval following the French Revolution, a group of seminarians at the Lyon seminary - led by Jean-Claude Colin - felt called to form a religious congregation dedicated to the Virgin Mary. They envisioned a society that would emulate Mary's humility, hiddenness, and devotion to Christ, working quietly to rebuild the faith in a fractured society.

On July 23, 1816, twelve seminarians, including Colin and Jean-Claude Courveille, climbed to the shrine of Our Lady of Fourvière in Lyon and pledged to establish the Society of Mary. Colin emerged as the principal founder and leader, shaping the Marist spirit and mission. The Society received papal approval in 1836, and the mandate to serve in Western Oceania with Bishop Pompallier. Among those who came with Bishop Pompallier with Fr Peter Chanel and Fr Louis Servant... 

The small chapel where the first Marists made their pledge

The chapel is full of plaques that record the founding of religious orders and the great missionary impulse that emanated from Lyon in the post-Revolution years

Fr Louis Servant (1808–1860) was a French Marist priest and missionary born in Grézieu-le-Marché near Lyon. Raised in a rural peasant family, he entered the seminary of St Irenaeus in Lyon in 1829 and was ordained in 1832. Drawn to missionary work, he joined the Society of Mary in 1836 and volunteered for the Oceania mission. He arrived in New Zealand in 1838 with Bishop Pompallier, ministering to Māori and European Catholics in the Hokianga. Known for his humility and dedication, he learned Māori and documented local customs. Later, he served in Futuna, where he died in 1860

For all the saints who from their labours rest,

who You by faith before the world confessed;

Your name, O Jesus, be forever blest.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

You were their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;

You, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;

You, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

But then there breaks a still more glorious day:

the saints triumphant rise in bright array;

the King of glory passes on His way.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,

through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,

in praise of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Alleluia, Alleluia!