It seems a divine hand may have intervened to give Queenstown's thriving Brazilian population the chance to attend a monthly Catholic Mass in the world's fifth most spoken language - Portuguese.
Enter Fr Michael Mahoney (68), who returned from 28 years working with needy youth and families and heading numerous New Zealand government-funded aid projects in the semi-desert region of Bahia, Brazil, last year to become parish priest for south Westland.
Fr Mahoney, described by radio host Kim Hill as "the mountainous priest", said the Mass came about "purely by coincidence ... or an act of God".
He had heard about Queenstown's burgeoning Brazilian community when he was skiing at Coronet Peak, but the chain of events leading to tomorrow's Mass was set in motion by the Bishop of Dunedin on a visit to the resort.
As the bishop was leaving St Joseph's Church in Queenstown, he remarked to parish priest Fr Tony Harrison how "nice it would be to have something for the Brazilians".
"Ten minutes after the bishop left for Dunedin, I knocked on the door," Fr Mahoney said.
Fr Mahoney, who was member of the first New Zealand expedition to Mount Everest in 1977, is preparing his Portuguese sermon today and has his fingers crossed he will be able to indulge a spot of post-Mass powder chasing at Coronet Peak come Monday.
Portuguese Catholic Mass, St Joseph's Church, Melbourne St, Queenstown, tomorrow 7pm.
