Members of the Marist family along with representatives of the Archdiocese of Wellington and the Friends of the Mount Street Cemetery joined the Archbishop of Wellington, John Dew at the Mount Street Cemetery, Wellington on Sunday 17 February to unveil headstones for two early French Marist Missionaries, who died at sea while setting out from Auckland to found the Catholic Church in Wellington.
Michel Borjon and Jean Villemagne, (Br Deodat) arrived in New Zealand in 1841 along with well known Marist names including, Fathers Garin and Seon, and Brother Colomb Poncet, and after settling in Auckland for a while, Deodat went further north to the Bay of Islands and Boron south to Rotorua.
Life was tough. Doedat was stunned by the gauntness of his Marist confreres in the north, their worn and mended clothing and the wretchedness of their accommodation.
Among Borjon’s trials was the looting of his community’s belongings, even their underwear and provisions.
Adding salt to the wound, the thieves were all baptised Catholics, and one was even Borjon’s own catechist!
After a short while Deodat and Borjon were called back to the Marist base in Auckland only to be told they were shifting to start the mission in Wellington.
Borjon was to be the Wellington’s first resident priest.
Travelling by ship, their vessel was last sighted at Mercury Bay on 12 August 1842, and not seen again until wreckage was picked up on the East Coast of the North Island.
Both Borjon and Villemagne along with their fellow travellers were presumed drowned at sea.
There were no survivors.