Cook Islander Sister Elizabeth Browne-Russell celebrated her diamond jubilee of religious profession in Auckland with a special Mass, marking 60 years of service and dedication to her vocation.

A special event was held in Auckland, New Zealand, on March 29 to celebrate the diamond jubilee of her religious profession, which began in 1965.

The Mass, celebrating the occasion, was conducted by Bishop Stephen Lowe DD and hosted by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny at St. Michael’s Church in Remuera. It also marked the diamond jubilee of Sister Francis Kelly of New Zealand.

The church was filled to the brim with well-wishers, friends, family, former students of Sister Elizabeth as well as Cook Islands people resident in New Zealand. In attendance were Annabella Hosking with members of her family, Agnes Mokotupu, Lily Numanga and Anna Tetevano, Tahei Rakei, Rosie Blake, as well as people who travelled here from Rarotonga: Tere and Mike Carr, Jean Mason, Ake Utanga and family. In addition, there were members of the different holy orders from within New Zealand, including Bishop Paul Donoghue and Fr Tony Dunn, both of whom served in Rarotonga. Also spotted in attendance was Member of the New Zealand Parliament, Carmel Sepuloni.  

On the dais around the altar were 10 priests, including Bishop Stephen Lowe – their presence signifying the special importance of the occasion. The Bishop made an interesting observation about Catholicism in the Pacific having benefited from the French Revolution, especially through Bishop Pompallier, being the first Catholic bishop of New Zealand and Mother Suzanne Aubert, of the then Daughter of Our Lady of Compassion, who is about to become New Zealand’s first saint, both of whom came from France.

The cantor was Dame Lyndsay Freer; soloist was Patrick Kelly.

Near the end of the service, the two Sisters renewed their vows, followed by thunderous applause from the audience. It was a celebration after all. Then well-wishers surrounded the two women for photographs and to offer their congratulations.

Sister Elizabeth was born on May 16, 1942. She studied piano from the age of eight. Eventually she qualified for both practical and theory in piano through London School of Music (qualifying in NZ for Associate ACTL and Licentiate). 

She was taught by Catholic nuns and made the momentous decision to become one herself in her late teens. She went to New Zealand to pursue a career that prefers to call a vocation.

She taught at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Suva, Fiji for nine years from 1968-78 (having taken a year (1971) in Christchurch doing relief).

After Fiji, she went back to University of Auckland to finish her degree. 

From 1980-84, she taught at Nukutere College in Rarotonga. Some of her students from these years were present at the jubilee in Auckland. Then she went to Australia to get a Diploma in Religious Education after which she went back to Rarotonga to organise a religious education programme.  

In 1987, Sr Elizabeth returned to New Zealand. She spent a year in Melbourne, Australia undertaking a course in spiritual direction before moving to the Catholic mission in Tauranga. She was engaged with a team writing “Understanding Faith”, a programme for Catholic secondary schools.   

In 1994, she went to the Philippines to start a mission at Pangasinan (in the northern Philippines). She and sisters from Trinidad and India were charged with renovating a ruined 100-plus years old Spanish built school building which they did and built more new buildings in addition to the renovation. To get funds to finance the project, they wrote letters and tapped the Catholic Church worldwide and were able to raise enough funds to build three schools which cater to primary and secondary students. A surprising donor was Conrad Hilton of the Hilton Hotels. 

Sr Elizabeth was in Philippines for six years. She was then appointed Provincial Leader (of Cook Islands, Fiji, Philippines and New Zealand) which entailed a lot of travelling.

Sr Elizabeth returned to the St Joseph of Cluny HQ in Paris many times for meetings, as well as Portugal and Peru. She has been to many places in the world but by far the most unusual experience was working in the rarified air of Acobamba in Peru where it was hard to breathe because the town was high up in the Andes.  The Sisters were encouraged to drink coca leaf tea to make them get used to the thin air. 

At end of 2013, Sr Elizabeth moved back to Rarotonga to look after her mother Emily who was ailing – something Sr Elizabeth felt both honoured and privileged to be allowed to do this as it’s not often people in her vocation are permitted to do this (i.e., leave the order for personal business). Her mum passed away in December 2021 at age 101.  

• Jean Mason