Image
In a ceremony common in other Catholic countries but seldom seen in New Zealand, Irish-born Father J. J. Sweeney, the parish priest of St Bernadette's Catholic church in Naenae, Lower Hutt, blesses the cars of his parishioners in 1958. Father Sweeney, accompanied by an altar boy, sprinkled holy water on 91 vehicles and pronounced a blessing to make them safe and reliable.
Using this item
Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)
Reference: EP/1958/0081
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.