Sacred Heart Home and Hospital staff and residents were to celebrate the canonisation of their founder, Jeanne Jugan, but organisers decided yesterday to postpone the Mass, Sister Colette Cook said.
"We had been planning this for three months, so it was a difficult decision."
More than 300 people from Christchurch south were expected to attend the Mass, which was to be led by Bishop Colin Campbell.
The Mass would celebrate the Little Sisters of the Poor founder, who was made a saint by Pope Benedict on October 11 in Rome.
However, with several residents in isolation, and staff also affected by norovirus, organisers decided they could not risk the health of others, she said.
People travelling to the Mass had been notified and it was hoped it could be held next month, she said.
"They have been very understanding."
Sr Colette said the order, which has been in Dunedin since 1904, still planned to hold a Mass of Thanksgiving, followed by a picnic for residents and their families, later this month.
But residents and staff of the Brockville-based rest-home have been buoyed by the arrival of a bronze statue of Jeanne Jugan from "our sisters in Spain".
"It has lifted our spirits."
