E te Ariki, Ka inoi nei matou
tukua mai ki tau pononga ki a Kingi Tuheitia,
kia whiti atu ai ia ki te Kainga o te
maramatanga me te rangimarie.
Ma te Karaiti to matou Ariki. Amene

O Lord, we pray,
grant that your Servant King Tuheitia
may pass over to a dwelling place
of light and peace,
Through Christ our Lord. Amen

Souce

• NZCBC

Cardinal Dew, who was invited to preach at the multi-denominational service part of the celebration on August 20, said a report of the meeting between Pope Francis and King Tuheitia a few weeks ago pointed to the warmth and sense of connection the two had with each other. Read more in NZ Catholic

At the meeting, the Kingi formally invited the Pope to New Zealand to visit him at Turangawaewae Marae.

It was Kingi Tuheitia's first visit to Rome and his first such Papal engagement, usually reserved for heads of state.

They exchanged taonga.

The Latin words on the taonga the Pope presented means "Be Messengers of Peace" The dove and olive branch are international symbols of peace.

Kingi Tuheitia was accompanied by his wife Makau Ariki Atawhai and his daughter Te Puhi Ariki Nga Wai Hono i te Po.

Nga Wai Hono i te Po was baptised in the Catholic Church at the request of her grandmother Dame Te Atairangikahu by Bishop Max Mariu.

Dame Te Atairangikahu chose to do this as a means of joining the two rivers, Waikato and Whanganui.

Nga Wai Hono i te Po was confirmed and made her first communion during a mass celebrated by Pa Hemi Hekiera and Monsignor David Bennett at Ngaruawahia as part of Kingi Tuheitia's coronation hui.

The Royal party was also supported by a delegation that included the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Sir David Moxon and Archdeacon Ngira Simmonds.

A post on the Kiingitanga facebook page reported that The Anglican Church was pivotal in securing the audience with the Pope, "thus embodying the aphorism of the Second Maori King, King Tawhiao who said 'in the palm of my hand I hold three treasures - the Anglican, the Methodist and the Catholic churches.'"

After his meeting with the Pope, Kingi Tuheitia was received by the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The discussion focused on social and political issues facing Maori and indigenous communities, including employment, health and education, and the need for cultural and interfaith unity.

The king's mother, the late Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikahu, visited the Vatican to meet Pope John Paul II in 1975.

The last papal visit to New Zealand took place in November 1986, when Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in Auckland Domain, where he wore a Maori feather cloak and addressed a huge crowd.

"The visit of King Tuheitia to the Pope is a very, very significant event because it is part of the vision that he set out at the Koroneihana last year, to commemorate and celebrate the 160th anniversary of the Kiingitanga", Ta Wira Gardiner wrote on Facebook.

"One of the messages was to make the Kiingitanga an important instrument and an institution both domestically and internationally, reaching out to the Pope was one of those aspects of internationalising the Kiingitanga."

Source

• supplied
• rnz.co.nz
• vaticannews.va
• facebook.com
• Image: facebook.com