Whangaroa’s Catholic community has collected more than 400 signatures on a petition requesting the Marist sisters remain in Waitaruke.
The sisters have been in Waitaruke, a settlement on State Highway 10 north of Kaeo, in the north of New Zealand since 1928.
Parishioner Jeanette Kinneally said she suspected the decision had been made, but the petition would show the nuns – Sisters Margarita, (92) Isabelle ,(82) and Catherine(<70) – how much support they had.
Sister Gemma Wilson, leader of the Marist Sister in New Zealand, said she had been overwhelmed by the love Whangaroa people had shown for their sisters, and their desire to have the sisters stay was understandable.
“We have fewer and fewer able-bodied sisters, and we want to use them in the best way possible.”
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