St Mary of the Angels, Wellington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary of the Angels |
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| Location | 27 Boulcott Street, Wellington |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Website | St Mary of the Angels |
| History | |
| Founded | 1843 |
| Consecrated | 26 March 1922 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Frederick de Jersey Clere |
| Style | Neo-Gothic |
| Years built | 1922 |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Wellington Central |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington |
St Mary of the Angels is a Catholic church located in Wellington, New Zealand. It stands at the corner of Boulcott Street and O'Reily Avenue. This church is very important for the Wellington Central area and is one of the main churches in the city. Since 1874, priests from the Marist Fathers have served at St Mary of the Angels. Before them, Father Jeremiah O'Reily, a Capuchin Franciscan, was the first priest. From 1936 to 1954, Archbishop O'Shea used this church as his special church, called a pro-cathedral. St Mary of the Angels is also known for its beautiful church music and was the place where Suzanne Aubert's funeral was held in 1926.
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History of St Mary of the Angels
The very first Catholic church on this spot was a small chapel built in 1843 by Father O'Riley. It was called "the chapel of the Nativity." In 1844, Bishop Pompallier visited Wellington and officially blessed this chapel.
Over time, this building grew bigger. In 1874, a larger wooden church was built to replace it completely. Father O'Riley named this new church "St Mary of the Angels." He chose this name because it reminded him of the Portincula chapel, which was very special to St Francis of Assisi. This wooden church was also made larger over the years.
Sadly, in 1918, the church was badly damaged by a fire and had to be pulled down. Some old records from the Mount Street Cemetery, which was Wellington's first Catholic cemetery, were lost in this fire.
The church building you see today was officially opened and blessed on March 26, 1922. Francis Redwood led the blessing, and a special Mass was celebrated by James Michael Liston. Later that evening, Bishop Whyte of Dunedin gave a sermon.
Amazing Architecture and Features
St Mary of the Angels is considered a very important historic place by Heritage New Zealand. It's a "Category I" historic place, meaning it has "special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value." This is because the church has been used continuously since 1843, and the current building opened in 1922.
The plans for the church were drawn up in 1919 by an architect named Frederick de Jersey Clere. The church's design looks like traditional French Gothic style. People say the front of the church was inspired by the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels.
The church is built with strong materials: reinforced concrete and brick. Its wooden roof is held up by concrete arches with steel rods. This was a very new way to build a Gothic church at the time, as it was the first time concrete was used for a Gothic design.
The church is famous for its beautiful stained glass windows. There's a continuous line of them around the upper part of the church (called the clerestory). There's also a round rose window above the main entrance. A window showing the crucifixion is above the main altar. Two large sections of 15 windows each are at the ends of the side parts of the church (called the transept). One set shows the fifteen decades of the Rosary, and the other shows scenes from the life of St Joseph. These windows fill the church with bright light.
Inside, you'll also find many statues. There's a smaller marble copy of Michelangelo's Moses outside in the church grounds. Inside, there are life-sized statues of the Pietà (Mary holding Jesus after the crucifixion) and the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph). In the transepts, the altars for Our Lady and St Joseph are made of brown marble. They have statues of Our Lady of the Rosary and Saint Joseph, with places for votive candles in front of them. Other large statues in the church include the Sacred Heart, St Vincent de Paul, St Marcellin Champagnat, and St Peter Chanel.
The main altar is made of marble in a Gothic style and has a blue background. Behind it is a carved screen (called a reredos) with statues. In the 1960s, the altar was moved forward so the priest could celebrate Mass facing the people, as part of changes from the Second Vatican Council. The front of this altar has a carving of the Last Supper. The fancy columns in the special area around the altar (the sanctuary) have marble statues of angels on top.
Suzanne Aubert's Funeral
St Mary of the Angels is especially remembered as the place where Mother Aubert's funeral was held. She is on her way to becoming a saint. Her funeral took place on October 4, 1926. It was the biggest funeral ever held for a woman in New Zealand. The church was completely full for the special funeral Mass, led by Archbishop Redwood and other priests. Huge crowds gathered along the streets, both to see the procession arrive at the church and then leave for Karori Cemetery. Mother Aubert was 91 years old.
Church Music Tradition
St Mary of the Angels is well-known for its Gregorian Chant, a type of ancient church music, which started there in 1905. When the current church opened in 1922, a choir of 70 people sang Mass, led by Edward Healy. This tradition became even stronger under Maxwell Fernie, who directed the music for 40 years, from 1958 until he passed away in 1999. His student, Robert Oliver, continued his work. The church's organ, known as The Maxwell Fernie Organ, is very special. It was first built in 1958 and then greatly changed in 1984 to Maxwell Fernie's specific ideas.
Earthquake Strengthening
After two earthquakes in 2013 (the July 2013 Seddon earthquake and the August 2013 Lake Grassmere earthquake), the church had to close for repairs. Experts found that the church was only 15%–20% as strong as a new building should be. In New Zealand, buildings below 33% strength are considered "earthquake prone" and must be made stronger or torn down.
The church reopened in April 2017 after a big project to make it 100% earthquake safe. This cost $9.5 million, which was raised through a successful public fundraising campaign. The inside of the church still looks mostly the same. Some new strong walls (called shear walls) were built near the entrance and beside the altar area (the sanctuary). All the fancy columns holding up the roof, the foundations, and the copper and slate roof were replaced. Some stained glass windows in the upper part of the church are now partly hidden from the outside by the new walls, but inside, they still look the same and are lit up with artificial lights. Even though many parts were rebuilt, the project felt more like a careful restoration than a complete rebuild.
This project was done by Clendon Burns & Park (engineers) and LT McGuinness (construction company). It won an award for heritage restoration in the 2018 New Zealand Heritage Project Awards.
See also
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington
- Society of Mary (Marists)
- Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington
- St Gerard's Church and Monastery
- St Joseph's Church, Mt Victoria
- Roman Catholicism in New Zealand
- St Patrick's College, Kilbirnie, Wellington
