Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (popularly known as the Christchurch Basilica) is located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch and seat of the Bishop of Christchurch. It was designed by architect Francis Petre.

The Cathedral was closed after the 4 September 2010 Canterbury earthquake. The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake collapsed the two bell towers at the front of the building and destabilised the dome. The dome was removed and the rear of the Cathedral was demolished.

In May 2015 an investigation was launched into whether the largely undamaged nave could be retained as part of an otherwise new building.

The building is generally held to be the finest renaissance-style building in New Zealand. On 7 April 1983, the building was registered as a Category I heritage item by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, with the registration number 47. It is regarded as an outstanding example of church architecture in Australasia, and is regarded as Petre's best design.

One commentator has said that the exterior of the Cathedral is probably the most complete and consistent of all Petre's churches. "The majesty of the dome is best seen from the rear, and from most parts of the city it registers powerfully above the Christchurch flatness in a manner reminiscent of Brunelleschi's dome in Florence".George Bernard Shaw during his 1934 visit was unimpressed with Gilbert Scott's Anglican cathedral but generous in his praise of Petre's Catholic one. "In fact it was Shaw who was one of the first to open local eyes to the quality of this building." In 1970 under Bishop Ashby, "years of grime deposited from the [then] nearby railway station and gasworks were cleaned off and restoration work was carried out." "The great joy of the cathedral, however, is the interior. Petre's handling of natural light is as sure as ever, the nave and sanctuary are suffused with daylight. The fine Corinthian and Ionic columns down each side of the nave are a development of the design of St Patrick's Basilica, Oamaru, here doubled in height, for obviously single columns in this great nave would have required enormous girth. The sanctuary dome is undoubtedly the climax of the interior; it is here that the full power of the design is unleashed. This was Petre's finest achievement in forty years of practice. Fascinating vistas are gained through the arches which transmit the enormous weight of the dome to the four massive piers. These are decorated with subtle flutings, a fresh variation on an ancient theme. In this sanctuary the liturgy can be seen as drama and it receives a fitting setting for its movement and colour".

...
Wikipedia