The Shrine to Our Lady of Natal
At the instigation of Fr. Noel Coughlan O.M.I. the First Annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Natal took place on the 15th May 1960. The second in 1961, and the third on the 19th August 1962. The Statue of Our Lady was erected in 1964. The annual pilgrimage would in reality never become an annual event, and the grounds were eventually sold to the Dominican order for the establishment of a school, from which the Convent School of Our Lady of Natal was born.
Clearing the bush
Making the statue of our lady
Erecting the statue
The statue today
The Statue of Our Lady of Natal now stands in the grounds of the Convent school of Our Lady of Natal
Pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of Natal
The Processions
Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Natal
The All Night Vigil and Dawn Mass – December 8th 1962
The original corpse now affixed to the wall of the new Parish Church, although the wooden cross was replaced
The original corpse from outside altar cross
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Message from Cardinal Napier | Message from Fr Stuart Bate OMI | Forward: Professor Joy Brain | Introduction | A history of the St Francis Mission | Establishment of the Church at Fynnland | The Church at Wentworth | Centralisation of St Francis Xavier and Building of the New Church | The Building of the Parish Hall | The Building of the New Presbytery | The Building of the Wall of Remembrance | The Architectural meaning of the New Church | Your Church in Rhyme by Fr Andy Slowey | The Human Contribution to the Growth of the Parish | Groups and Organisations that have contributed to the Parish | Current Groups within the Parish | Local Vocations | Awards and Recognition | An Armchair tour of the Parish | The Shrine to Our Lady of Natal | Landholdings of the Catholic Church on the Bluff | A Portrait of the Life and Times of St Francis Xavier | Picture Gallery | Timeline of incidents of the Bluff Parish
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