Face of empathy: Jacinda Ardern photo resonates with the world after terror attack

The photo has been shared hundreds if not thousands of times, showing the prime minister, dressed in a hijab, meeting with Christchurch's Muslim community a day after the Friday terror attack.

She looks forward, her brow raised with concern and hands clasped. She's not speaking and doesn't show any sign that she is about to launch into a political speech. Jacinda Ardern is simply listening.

It's a photo which has gone around the world. Well-wishers in the United States and news networks in Asia have shared the photo, which was taken on Saturday by a city council photographer in Christchurch.

Photographer Kirk Hargreaves, a former Press journalist who joined the Christchurch council, was standing outside the community hall when he spotted Ardern's face "like a bubble" through a window.

On Saturday, Ardern visited refugees and members of the Muslim community in Christchurch. Tearful, she told the meeting the entire country was "united in grief".

 "This is not New Zealand. The only part of the incident we have seen over the past 24 to 36 hours that is New Zealand - is the support that you are seeing now," she said.