Hero photograph
Bishop Basil Meeking
 
Photo by JPIIHS

Bishop Basil's Funeral Mass

Tuirirangi Jason Renau —

Cameron Dodds and Ellagrea Rollo represented the school at the Requiem Mass for Bishop Basil Meeking.

Meeking was first ordained as a priest in 1953. He was appointed as Bishop of Christchurch by Pope John Paul II on 30 March 1987 and resigned the see on 15 December 1995. During this time, Meeking also served as the chaplain to Christchurch Hospital and represented the Catholic Church at the National Council of Churches, among other things.
From 1963 to 1966, Meeking studied at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, following which he was appointed to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome, where he served for the following eighteen years.
Meeking died in Christchurch on 11 June 2020, aged 90, after what was reported as a "recent period of ill-health".

Cameron and Ellagrea travelled to Christchurch to attend the funeral on behalf of our school. It was a large event with no less than 40 priests and eight Bishops presiding over the event. Our current Bishop, Paul Martin led the Mass, outlining what sort of man Bishop Basil was, what his legacy will be for the Church and acknowledged all those who had gathered to celebrate the Bishop's life. JPII was one of five schools from the Christchurch Diocese to attend the funeral and it was commented on by Bishop Paul how important it was for the youth to be a part of history in attending the Mass. 

Cameron and Ellagrea met with and chatted with Bishop Paul afterward, as well as catching up with previous Greymouth residents Father Peter and Father Tian. It was nice to talk with our current Priest Father Matthew after the Mass as well.