The Saudi envoy to New Zealand Abdulrahman Al Suhaibani held a ceremony for the pilgrims at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch on Friday. According to AP, the diplomats handed out special clothes for the men to wear during the pilgrimage, while the women would get their kits after arrival in Saudi Arabia.
"Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has directed hosting 200 pilgrims of the families of the victims and injured of the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which killed 50 people and wounded dozens", the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The shooting, commited by 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, became the worst terrorist act in New Zealand's history. He live-streamed the assault via Facebook and later published his 74-page manifesto, aimed against Muslims and calling for new attacks.
Responding to the massacre, the authorities banned the manifesto, tightened gun control, while Facebook put more limits on livestreams and ads.
A five-day pilgrimage to Mecca, known as Hajj, is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all able-bodied Muslims are required to perform it once in their lifetime.