In the history of Christendom no Pope had travelled this far from Rome. Then, Pope (later Saint) John Paul II visited New Zealand. His 48-hour stay concluded in Christchurch on 24^th of November, 1986.

The Pope had been to New Zealand before, as a Cardinal from Poland. On that visit he met post-World War II Polish refugees. Survivors from that group and their families greeted him with great enthusiasm when he returned as Pope.

The Pope’s status in New Zealand was that of official guest of the Government. His Pastoral Visit was a major occasion for all New Zealand. It was embraced and celebrated by the public and widely covered by religious and lay media. Reactions ranged from fascination to euphoria.

A delighted response was expressed by Christians of all denominations. They appreciated the Pope’s zealous promotion of Christian unity and many attended the morning ecumenical service he led in Christchurch’s Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The archives of the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch contain letters of heartfelt thanks from participants in the service representing a host of churches.

A letter from an Anglican nun of the Community of the Sacred Name expresses her joy in the Pope’s acceptance of the silk stole which members of her community had made for him. The nuns were proud of their handiwork and beamed beatifically when the Pope’s private secretary examined it at some length. As an attendant priest remarked, they probably did not realise the secretary was scrutinising the stole for any nefarious substance. There wasn’t any, and the Pope wore the stole throughout the ecumenical service.

Meanwhile, Catholic nuns of the Carmelite Order had made the communion breads and embroidered the Papal Coat of Arms to decorate the Papal chair for the open-air Mass to be celebrated by the Pope at Lancaster Park in the afternoon. Ten of the convent’s 14 nuns attended the Mass and received Holy Communion from the Pope. It was the first time since 1933 that Carmelite nuns had gone beyond their own walls, except for individual medical appointments.

The Papal Visit included time in Auckland and Wellington, ending with a day in Christchurch, whence the Pope flew to Australia. Archival files bulge with newspaper coverage of the tour, much of it in full-page display featuring large photographs. Television and radio were “all over” the tour. That any adult New Zealander could have been unaware of the Pope’s presence is unimaginable.

Not so well known, however, is the extent of organisation that went on to ensure success of the tour. A large team, in various committees, handled the logistics of a complex array of aspects: coordination between The Vatican and New Zealand, establishment of a commercial company, involvement of government services, liturgical services, production of books and mementoes, business sponsorships, budgeting, fundraising, and many more. A papal visit cannot just happen.

 The venture began with an invitation from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the New Zealand Government to the Pope for a pastoral visit. The Pope accepted and work began. In September, 1985, Catholic layman Patrick Gaines was appointed national director “for all Catholic and Government coordinated arrangements”. Only 14 months were left to prepare for the Pope’s arrival. Gaines’ experience in managing high-level events was the key to a successful project.

A post-tour review, written by Gaines, is held in the diocesan archives. It describes the first four months as a time for laying foundations. A National Advisory Board to the Bishops’ Conference was formed to coordinate planning on a national basis.  Gaines, as the board’s director, then flew to Melbourne with the board’s secretary for a combined Australia – New Zealand planning conference.

Next, Gaines, with Wellington’s Cardinal Tom Williams and the New Zealand Ambassador to The Holy See, flew to Rome for further planning. Also attending were representatives of Australia and Fiji, which the Pope had agreed also to visit. At this conference it was agreed that the Pope would visit Bangladesh and Singapore as well.

Regional planning centres were set up at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Each centre would encompass two dioceses. So, the Christchurch and Dunedin dioceses were partnered, as were Auckland-Hamilton, and Wellington-Palmerston North. These centres began more detailed planning in the New Year, 1986.

A National Planning Office was set up to coordinate the functions envisaged for the visit. However, Gaines’ review indicates a lack of efficiency in this arrangement. So, in April, 1986, the national coordinating structure was changed “to add ease of planning and access to New Zealand bishops and permit greater flexibility”.

An advance party of four Vatican officials arrived in New Zealand in early June to complete the “outline itinerary” and other details of the Pope’s visit. These included liturgies, homilies, movements, venues, construction contracts, State legislature changes, media arrangements, preparation and distribution of publications, transport links, insurances, emergency services, security plans by police, traffic and military personnel for the so-called “Operation Rome”. All required prior approval by The Vatican as well as the New Zealand Bishops’ Conference and the New Zealand Government. All was accomplished by the 6th November.

Not all was plain sailing. Administrators of Lancaster Park, then Christchurch’s major sports ground, “played hardball” in negotiations for the hire of the ground where the Pope would celebrate the open-air Mass. Two burly Christchurch Catholic organisers helped secure a fair deal. They were Hillary Kearney, a no-nonsense first-class rugby referee, and Kevin Meates, a 1950s All Black lock and Canterbury stalwart. Both men were as forthright as they were business-like. The park was hired for $1000, while the total costs associated with the Mass there amounted to $95,000.

As a final check, The Vatican’s Monsignor Magee flew to New Zealand just two weeks before the tour was to begin. He conducted full rehearsals of the planned liturgical events listed for Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

At last, on the 22nd November, Pope John Paul II landed at Auckland Airport, to be greeted by the Prime Minister, the Governor-General, other civic and church dignitaries and a Maori welcome. Travelling with him was a support party of 18 Vatican officials, four Vatican security officers and a Vatican TV crew. Further groups of support staff and international news media representatives followed.

The tour passed quickly and any hitches were minor. As Gaines wrote: “The tour was completed without problems”. Nevertheless, along with the praise and gratitude he expressed to many, his review contained some criticisms.

Highest praise goes to the Catholic laity for their “goodwill”, “tireless input” and “generosity” in the two national cash collections that were held. Gaines says this applied to all sections of the community but he picks out for special commendation members of the Catholic Women’s League He says their response to every request for help was willing and reliable. They were “a tower of strength”.

Gaines writes that some displeased Catholics alleged “too much involvement of the laity in the top decision and planning roles”. His response – “the more laity who are involved, the better”. He was annoyed, too, by the efforts of “liturgists” to take over the planning of events.

He compliments the religious orders of priests, brothers and sisters, in particular the Marists, who made a huge contribution to the tour’s success. However, he chides some parish priests for failing to support the Papal Visit. This failing indicated a degree of disdain for the visit, reflected in lower than expected numbers attending some events. The open-air Mass at Lancaster Park, for instance, drew only half the 50,000 people who had been expected to attend.

Those who had stayed away might have thought themselves lucky when they heard that a sudden cloudburst had sent hundreds of people rushing from the open arena to shelter in the grandstands. The Pope saw some humour in the downpour and quipped: “You have clearly prepared special weather”.

Gaines lauds the companies and government agencies that provided goods and services for the tour. It showed “a tremendous amount of goodwill in the community, especially to the Pope, and also to our Church”.

He expresses disappointment with Maori involvement in the tour. Cardinal Williams had stated as an aim: “to give the Maori proper recognition”. However, Gaines notes a lack of interest among Maori.

Such a Pastoral Visit must be expensive. At the outset, Christchurch Bishop Denis Hanrahan urged his fellow bishops for an “emphasis on simplicity and the need for minimum expenditure”. Cardinal Williams assured him there would be “no extravagance or ostentation”, adding that the National Advisory Board was “aiming for a surplus rather than a deficit”.

The Cardinal also backed Bishop Hanrahan’s proposal for the ecumenical liturgy to be held in Christchurch. Neither noted that the typed script for the eight-page booklet containing the order of service was dated on the front cover as “Monday 24 November 1984”. The firm that printed the booklet failed to spot or amend the error.

The cost of the tour was first projected as $765,000. The figure grew to about $850,000. The shortfall was mostly funded by churchgoers. A company, Papal Tour Aotearoa 1986 Ltd, was set up to manage the financial side of the tour. It predicted a cash surplus which would come through sponsorships, publications of books, licensing of souvenir items, and such means, as well as the two special collections in the churches. It was agreed that entry to events would be free.

One problem identified by Gaines was the poor distribution through parishes of a commemorative book. This led to low sales. Many copies had to be dumped, with parishes bearing the cost. In the diocesan archives is a letter written by a Mercy Sister in Christchurch complaining bitterly of the wastage and the drain it inflicted on parishioners’ finances. She labelled the case “extortion” and sought an apology. In the spirit of Christian humility, a highly placed official admitted the errors and apologised gracefully.

An anti-Catholic cadre, taking advantage of the publicity surrounding the Pope, circulated a venomous pamphlet laden with erroneous hate-speech against the Church, the papacy in general, and Pope John Paul II in particular. Its message was completely overshadowed by the positive response to the tour from New Zealanders of all faiths.

The impact of the vile pamphlet was nil. Other hitches in the tour were quickly forgiven and forgotten. All this must have affirmed the fruitfulness of the massive planning undertaken by Gaines and his team for the visit by Pope John Paul II.

Author: Michael Crean