Opening this Sunday 30th: "For Compassion's Sake" art exhibition.

Administration Team from Island Bay Presbyterian Church

This Island Bay exhibition of new 2D and 3D art showcases the artistic vision of compassion. Please come and enjoy the official opening this Sunday, 4-6pm at the Presbyterian Centre, 88 The Parade, Island Bay (100 north of the shops). The exhibition runs until 7 October.

Suzanne Aubert, who became an Island Bay icon and is celebrated in CompassionFest 2018, embodied compassion. She was a social and religious pioneer and champion of children and the poor.

CompassionFest is a rich weekend of eleven events in Island Bay, celebrating the life and work of Suzanne Aubert. (Full programme on Facebook or www.ibpc.org.nz...)

Mother Aubert devoted her life to helping others. Her work took her from France to the Whanganui River and finally to Island Bay. Along the way she founded a new Catholic congregation, cared for children and the sick, and documented her work in Māori, English and French. Her work in education, women’s rights and te reo Maori were far reaching.
Mother Aubert founded the religious order ‘Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion’ in 1892. She later started two hospitals in Wellington: St Joseph’s Home for the Incurables in 1900, and Our Lady’s Home of Compassion in 1907. The Soup Kitchen she started in Tory St continues its service today.
In 1872 Mother Aubert began experimenting with medicine, developing her own herbal remedies, drawing on traditional Maori medicine as well as her own nursing and botanical background. She gained recognition from the doctors of the region who grew to trust her treatments and cures completely.
In November 1903 she opened the first crèche in Wellington for the children of poor working mothers; she trained and insisted that her Sisters also train, with the St. John’s Ambulance Association.