When an 1883 Catholic congregation in Wanganui saw that their nuns had
changed brown robes for black some of them cried - they thought the pope
must have died. But it wasn't that.
It was a split in the nuns' religious order, a split that divided friend from friend, Sister Catherine Shelton said.
That split has now been healed with Wanganui's Sisters of St Joseph of Nazareth - known as black Joes - reuniting with the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart - the brown Joes - which was where they started.
The split happened in 1876, when a group of the brown-robed teaching sisters went from Adelaide to work in Bathurst, Australia. The bishop there, Bishop Quinn, wanted them under his control rather than the control of Rome or of their leader.
Most of the sisters could not accept that, and went back to Adelaide. Those who remained were "under a fair pressure" to do what the bishop wanted.
The split was painful at the time, and the pain lingered.
"There were a lot of hurt feelings, people who had been friends became estranged. It took a long time for all of that to soften."
The Black Joes, those obedient to the bishop, came to Wanganui in 1880, Sister Catherine said.
Brown Joes arrived in New Zealand in 1883, at first mainly working in the South Island. The change of name and clothing at that time was a deliberate attempt to keep the two groups apart.
The city has been a stronghold for black Joes since their arrival. From 1883 they were teachers in black robes, then they changed to white ones in the 1970s. In the 1980s they decided not to wear any uniform and most left teaching to work in other fields.
There are still 36 of their order in Wanganui, and about 300 altogether. Brown Joes grew in number to about 880, and the two orders have spread themselves across the globe, with sisters in Brazil, Australia, Peru, Ireland, Scotland and East Timor.
By the 1950s the black and brown had started to mix. "We were really surprised and delighted to discover just how similar we were. Sitting in each others' places we had a sense of home, that we belonged there and had the same spirit," Sister Catherine said.
After a four-year process the black Joes decided to rejoin their more numerous brown Josephite sisters. "It's what our founders wanted, but it's a reconciliation that couldn't have taken place between our founders."
A decree from Rome was issued on February 22. The major celebration, with a guest list of 450, takes place in Wanganui on August 24.
Sister Catherine said a special mass is planned at St Mary's Church, followed by lunch at the Wanganui Racecourse function centre. She expects it to be a joyful occasion overall. "It's a mixture of excitement and joy, and sadness too, because there will be change for everybody."
Wanganui people will not see much change in the order's presence, though its New Zealand administration will be done from Mission Bay in Auckland.
"We still have Nazareth and Quinlan Court [rest homes]. They will continue, and we have sisters counselling and involved in the ecological movement. The retreat centre [Mount St Joseph] will continue to offer its programmes. Anything we are currently doing we will continue to do."
The Sisters of the Sacred Heart order was founded in 1866 by Mary MacKillop - now canonised - and Father Julian Tenison Woods, who shared a passion for providing Catholic education to the children of poor families in remote areas.