Mō Maria
A Māori Hymn for Our Lady
One of the biggest surprises in my life concerning Liturgical music should have never surprised me at all. I had the great joy of getting to know a young Catholic from New Zealand who stunned me by saying some of her favorite hymns were Māori hymns. I was shocked at myself for being foolish enough to never imagine any Catholic hymns being written in Māori. The Māori, like most Catholics, came to have a deep love for Our Lady, and to help them express this love, their first bishop wrote a song for them to sing. This is the Mō Maria.
In 1831, Bishop Jean-Baptiste Francois Pompallier and his fellow missionaries landed on the North Island of what would become New Zealand.1 He decided it would be best for the priests to use existing Māori customs as a foundation to build Catholic doctrine on.2 With this thought in mind, he composed Mō Maria in 1842. 3
The original hymn is said to have fourteen verses, but, sadly, I cannot find a version with all the verses. It seems as though the Bishops of New Zealand updated the hymn and possibly its music so the parishes would be able to sing together for the re-dedication of New Zealand to Our Lady.4 Nevertheless, the lyrics that remain are beautiful. The first stanza translates to “For Mary now, our songs. Let us be strong. Let there be great love.”5 In this one stanza is summed up Bishop Pompallier’s hope that the old customs of the Maori would be baptized, allowing them to be strengthened in their new Faith and come to love it. This first stanza is also the refrain. Bishop Pompallier’s hope acts as a source of unity for the stanzas, while also uniting the modern Catholics of New Zealand with their Catholic ancestors. The final stanza is translated as “Love God, love Mary, in heaven and on earth, forever and ever.”6 Instead of ending the hymn with a doxology, the composer chose to end it with a final exhortation to his listeners. Love God, yes, but love also His Mother who shall help you in your journey to Heaven.
Here’s the hymn sung by the students of Te Kura Taumata o Panguru
Page 1, First Catholic Missionaries on https://teara.govt.nz/en/catholic-church/page-1
Page 1, Māori and Catholicism, on https://teara.govt.nz/en/catholic-church/page-1
https://www.godsongs.net/2015/09/mo-maria-aianei.html
ibid.
LYRIC TRANSLATION TAKEN FROM https://www.tearaamaria.nz/mo-maria-himene
ibid.