This is one place that's kinda special to me because of family connections. The St Francis de Sales and All Saints Church in Devonport, Auckland looks like one grand austere old lady. Between 1890 and 1900 the Catholic population in town doubled and the first church on this site was a former mortuary chapel barged across the Auckland Harbour from the historical Symonds Street Cemetery to be resited here in 1893. This particular suburb was first settled by colonists in 1840 and is one of the first colonial settlements in Auckland and the first on the North Shore.
| My mum on the right with her twin on their confirmation day in the 1950s. |
Interestingly enough my mother and her siblings were raised in Devonport and attended St Leo's school and this church as they were growing up, in fact when my grandmother passed away in 1996 her funeral was held here because they were all Catholics until the last 5 years of her life when she became a Christian. Mum has said she remembers the nuns at school being very strict and not very kind to the children.
Linking up with Our World Tuesday and My Corner of the World.
Linking up with Our World Tuesday and My Corner of the World.
16 comments:
...what a beautiful church, i've seen a St Francis de Sales church here too!
Lovely photos! Have a wonderful week!
A beautiful old church.
Hate to pint this out but Catholics are Christians it covers all who follow Christ. Very nice church you showed us, it looked well loved and cared for
Tiene una preciosa fachada. Me supongo que su interior, debe de ser igualmente precioso.
Me ha encantado poder conocerla.
She is a grand old building, for sure :)
I hate to point this back but the 2 faiths aren't the same thing, my mother was raised a catholic who raised my sister and I the same, just over 25 years ago we all became Christians, completely different thing altogether.
Sweet photo of your mom and aunt! And a lovely church building.
Now that is a very beautiful church! Thank you for sharing your mom's confirmation photos, they look lovely on those dresses and veils! Now I am sad that I don't have a photo taken of me during my confirmation :(
Hello, the church is beautiful. Cute photo of your Mom, I have a similar photo of my confirmation. Have a great day!
lovely old lady, beautiful church
Beautiful church, well cared for. Love the old photos of your mom and aunt, they look very nice with their white confirmation dresses on.
That's a beautiful old church. I went to a Catholic school until the fourth grade and I remember the same thing. The nuns were not always a kind bunch.
St Francis de Sales certainly does look like the grand old lady of churches Amy, lovely piece of architecture, bet the stained glass windows look beautiful from inside š
What a beautiful church.
Worth a Thousand Words
That's a fabulous looking church! Thanks for the history of the church and your family's ties to it.
It's awesome to see you at 'My Corner of the World' this week! Thanks for linking up.
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