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16 February 1843 - Bishop Pompallier to Father Épalle, Kororareka

Summary

Épalle is in Lyons, where he went in 1842 to try to give the Marist administration and the Society for the Propagation of the Faith a first-hand view of the situation in the Pacific mission. He begins by telling Épalle of letters he has written to men in authority in the Church, in Lyons and Rome. Then he tells him to stay in Lyons, while looking for vocations, money, and in general trying to arouse the interest of the faithful in the mission. He is annoyed that while he was up in the tropics his instructions as to what should/should not be printed on the new press were ignored. He says that the tropical part of the mission is flourishing, and also that in the north of NZ, but is unhappy with that in the south. (“the south” at this time meant anything south of Auckland).

He has sent him 2,000 copies of what has been printed, and says that this work has mightily impressed the New Zealanders.