Rebuilding the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

08/12/2017

A new Bishop of Christchurch is appointed by Pope Francis

Pope Francis has appointed Father Paul Martin SM as the next Bishop of the Christchurch Diocese. Bishop-Elect Paul Martin will be the tenth Bishop of Christchurch and succeeds Bishop Barry Jones who died in February 2016.
Bishop Patrick Dunn, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC), said “we are delighted that Bishop-Elect Paul has accepted the call to this special ministry. On behalf of all the New Zealand Bishops I warmly welcome him to our New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference. We know that he will bring a new voice and a valuable perspective to our discussions.”
Bishop-Elect Paul Martin SM was born in Hastings in 1967, one of five children. He entered formation for the Society of Mary in February 1985, and studied in theology and arts at Victoria University in Wellington. He has taught English and Religious Education in New Zealand and has held the roles of Rector at St Patrick’s College in Wellington and Deputy Director in Pastoral Care at St Bede’s College, Christchurch.
The Bishop-Elect has also served as President of the Wellington Secondary Schools Principals Association and was a part of the Marist community at the time it was working in Māori pastoral care at Rawene in the South Hokianga. More recently, he was General Bursar for the Society of Mary in Rome.
Bishop Dunn said “it is wonderful for Christchurch that they will receive a Bishop who has worked with a range of communities, has extensive pastoral experience and comes to the role with a wealth of knowledge and expertise.”
As news of his appointment was announced, Bishop-Elect Paul said “I’d like to express what a privilege it is to be chosen to serve in the Diocese of Christchurch as Bishop, following in the footsteps of those before me. I am really looking forward to taking up this ministry and leading the Diocese.”
Bishop Dunn said “I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Father Rick Loughnan who has given us his dedicated service as Diocesan Administrator for almost two years. During this time he has worked tirelessly to support the priests and people of the Diocese, and has represented them well at our regular meetings of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.”
Father Rick Loughnan has been the administrator of the diocese following the passing of Bishop Barry Jones last year. Commenting at the time of the announcement, Father Rick said “we are delighted with the appointment by Pope Francis and look forward to welcoming Bishop-Elect Paul with open arms.”
It is expected that his ordination will be in the first part of next year.
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) is the national body for the bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Conference has a number of agencies and offices to assist the bishops in carrying out national level functions.

09/03/2017

Did you see the multimedia fence featured on both Prime News and Newshub last night? It's definitely drawing the crowds, here's the link -

Christchurch's Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament has been left in its derelict state since February 2011.

09/03/2017

Have you seen the new interactive fence that surrounds the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament?

You can now easily see the Cathedral in all its former glory and take a trip down memory lane!

Here's an update from Fr Rick on what it's all about - go check it out!

20/10/2016

Great news! The entire Catholic Cathedral could now be saved!

-- Background --
Since May 28, 2015, the key messages from the Diocese in relation to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament are that the Diocese believes it could save the nave of the Cathedral and progressively build back other parts over time. This rebuild work, however, was conditional on the state of the nave and the land underneath. The Diocese also had to consider the widespread repair and rebuild work that would be needed across many of its parishes.

The late Bishop Barry Jones set aside a maximum sum of $45 million ($30m from the Diocese and $15m fundraising) for saving the nave.

In July this year preliminary geotechnic and engineering reports were positive concerning the land and foundations on which the Catholic Cathedral sits.

-- Present --
Further, ongoing investigations have revealed that the entire Cathedral can be saved but at a much greater cost, currently estimated to be approximately $100m.

In order to make a recommendation to the new Bishop, all aspects in relation to the project, as well as the potential for fundraising must be taken into account. It is envisaged that major fundraising for a restored Cathedral would have a national and international focus and be supported by heritage and other funding.

-- Conclusion --
The ultimate decision about whether we proceed in this direction will be left to the new Bishop, when he is appointed.

We will continue to explore this scenario to provide the Bishop with a recommendation, including the need for fundraising $70m for the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and $15m for work in the parishes. The late Bishop Barry had already engaged Fundraisers (AskRIGHT), who are optimistic of our ability to do this.

11/08/2016

Thursday, August 11

Former Ngai Tahu property chief joins Catholic Diocese

Former Ngai Tahu Property chief executive, Tony Sewell, has accepted a contract to lead the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch property team.

A long-time member of the Catholic Cathedral Management Board, he has a deep understanding of property matters in relation to the Diocese.

“The Diocese has tread a very sensible and measured path in dealing with the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and other churches and schools damaged in the earthquakes, and it is essential that we keep this momentum going.

“We need to take a long-term view of the work to be completed. While a decision on the cathedral is our most important focus, we cannot lose sight of the great work our parishes are doing in dealing with their own rebuild projects.

“We have to make sure we continue to support and guide them, while also completing our assessment on the Cathedral.”

The Diocese remains on track to make a decision on the Cathedral this year.

Sewell worked for Ngai Tahu for 21 years and during that time the iwi’s equity in its property company grew from $50 million to $600 million. The company was responsible for some very noteable property developments and investments in that time.

“This is an exciting time to be involved with the Diocese and their property interests,” he said.

03/08/2016

World Youth Day centred on Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

Over 200 pupils and teachers from 11 Catholic secondary schools in the Christchurch and Dunedin dioceses assembled in Christchurch last weekend (July 29 – 31) to join in the celebrations for World Youth Day.
This was a unique opportunity for the youth (16- 18 years) of the catholic communities to come together and share their faith experiences. Fr Rick Loughnan (acting Bishop of Christchurch), Bishop Colin Campbell from Dunedin and Bishop Charles Drennan (Palmerston North) were in attendance. The Polish Ambassador and Community were also involved in a cultural evening.
The weekend-long event was at Catholic Cathedral College, adjacent to the earthquake damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.
Amongst the highlights of the weekend were:
• To open the weekend, St Bede’s College pupils carried a 4m high cross the length of Barbadoes St to Catholic Cathedral College grounds. This was followed by a powhiri attended by 200 students and teachers. The cross was created from materials sourced from the ruins of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, and was made by the students of Catholic Cathedral College last year. The cross had travelled to all 11 Catholic secondary schools in the South Island prior to the weekend.
• A polish cultural evening.
• The students visiting Christchurch parishes and Catholic organisations for a day of service for the community.
• Pilgrimage with the Cross from the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament to the city’s Transitional Cathedral.
• A visit to other denominational churches.
• A joint Mass followed by live streaming of the Papal Mass from Krakow.

11/07/2016

Positive news! If you're interested in the latest news on the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament! Here's an update!

17/05/2016

Update of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and the other heritage churches plus the start of the fundraising campaign

09/05/2016

Uniquely designed CBS Music Centre open again in Christchurch

Christchurch’s musical community has a new resource available to them following the opening of the new state-of-the-art CBS Music Centre.

The CBS Music Centre was reopened earlier this month next to St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Manchester Street alongside new parish facilities. The original building, which sat alongside the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Barbadoes Street, was severely damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes.

CBS Music Centre Director, Don Whelan, said that the new facility took three years to develop due to its unique design qualities that will allow the building to be moved back to the original site at a later date.

As part of the official opening,the CBS Choir and Orchestra performed a well attended Te Deum concert.

“The choir and orchestra are totally committed to supporting the repair and restoration of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and our eventual return to our former site.

“In the meantime, we have a great new space which can be used by both the Catholic community and the wider public as an arts hub. It’s a vital boost for creative artists to be able to access these facilities in a city which has been lacking specifically designed rehearsal and performance spaces.

“Future plans include a Friday at Five concert series together wth the development of new Catholic primary and secondary diocesan choirs and orchestras under the guidance of Ken Joblin, the newly appointed Minister of Sacred Music,” he said.

The new facility incorporates an acoustically designed choir area, music and instrument storage areas, rehearsal rooms and library storage alongside offices for use by the parish.

Photo captions

CBS Cake: CBS Music Centre Director, Don Whelan, wife Beris, cutting the cake to officially opening the new CBS Music Centre. Amongst those watching are Ken Joblin, Minister of Sacred Music, far left.

CBS Orchestra: The CBS Choir and Orchestra under the baton of Don Whelan performing Te Deum at the opening of the CBS Music Centre.

21/12/2015

Cathedral Update plus opening of two more churches and news on the music front.

INFO BELOW

Clearing work around the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament has commenced as on-going investigations into the viability of saving the nave of the cathedral pick up pace.

Several containers have been removed, many artefacts have been catalogued and put into safe storage and much of the site is now clear. A new fence is being built around the perimeter of the site.

Keith Beal, Property and Development Manager for the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch, said that coupled with the work being carried out on site, investigations were continuing behind the scenes.

The Design Team for the initial stage has been appointed with Alec Bruce as architect and engineers Jamie Lester (OPUS) and Grant Wilkinson (Ruamoko) working on the detail of the concept designs. Sir Miles Warren continues to contribute advice and recommendations to the team.

Supporting the design effort are Carole-Lynne Kerrigan (CLK Heritage), Site Safe and Rawlinsons. Naylor Love is assisting with the initial site establishment.

“Once we had the team in place and thanks to Sir Miles Warren’s input, the concept options have been advancing quite rapidly. As soon as we have removed more of the rubble and are able to carry out further investigations of both the ground and the building itself we will be able to plan with more certainty.

“We will then need to look at the viability of the options open to us before settling on an agreed path forward. Hopefully by the end of February we will have a more definite idea of what we will be able to do.

“It does looking promising though,” he said.

Two more churches reopen
Parishoners at St Matthew’s Catholic church in Bryndwr and Our Lady of Assumption church in Hoon Hay will both be able to celebrate Christmas in their own churches following extensive repairs.

Both were closed following the 2011 earthquakes. St Matthew’s required strengthening as well as the removal of asbestos while Our Lady of Assumption also required strengthening and a new roof.

“These two churches are part of the systematic repair programme that is taking place right across the Diocesan region.”

St Anne’s, Woolston, and St Peter’s Beckenham opened in October and November respectively.

“We expect to have both Leeston and Temuka churches open by Easter (March 27) and St Mary’s, Hokitika, by the middle of next year and we still retain our confidence that we will save all 13 heritage churches,” he said.

These heritage churches are broken down into Heritage 1, Heritage 2 and listed on the District Plan. Each individual group is:

• Heritage 1: Cathedral of Blessed Sacrament, Ashburton, Timaru, Waimate, Hokitika, Amberley and Akaroa.
• Heritage 2: Little River, Pleasant Point, Temuka, and Hanmer.
• District Plan: Rangiora and Leeston.

Christchurch School of Music

Temporary buildings for the Christchurch School of Music (CSM) are in place on the former site beside the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Barbadoes Street.

The Diocese, which owns the property, has leased out 1000 sq m of land on the corner with Ferry Road and has provided four portable classrooms that will be used for teaching, meetings, office requirements and music and instrument storage.

The CSM will move in over the Christmas break.

For 17 years the CSM’s home was in the former convent for the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, but the building had to be pulled down after the earthquakes. Since then the school’s office has been in temporary facilities in Waltham Road.

New music centre at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Manchester Street

The new parish complex at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral will be complete and ready for occupancy in late February.

The complex includes offices for use by the parish, an expanded space to allow for the sale of books and religious articles and facilities for the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament Choir, other music groups and the wider community.

It will incorporate a state-of-the-art acoustically designed choir area, music and instrument storage areas, rehearsal room, library storage and kitchen facilities. With new landscaping and improved off-street car parking, the facility will be available for hire to other choirs and music groups for rehearsals or as a music events centre.