St Mary's Cathedral, Wellington
| St Mary's Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| 41°16′36″S 174°46′34″E / 41.2766°S 174.7762°E | |
| Location | Thorndon, Wellington Central City |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Website | Sacred Heart Cathedral |
| History | |
| Founded | 1851 |
| Founder(s) | Philippe Viard, 1st Bishop of Wellington |
| Consecrated | 7 December 1851 (the feast of the Immaculate Conception) |
| Associated people | Francis Redwood, 2nd Bishop and 1st Archbishop of Wellington |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Christian Julius Toxward |
| Architectural type | Gothic Revival style |
| Groundbreaking | 1850 |
| Completed | 1867 |
| Demolished | 1898 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 500 |
St Mary's Cathedral was the Cathedral of the Catholic Bishop of Wellington, New Zealand for 47 years in the Nineteenth century from its opening in 1851 until it was destroyed by fire in 1898. When the building reached its final form in 1867, St Mary's Cathedral was considered one of the finest, if not the finest, ecclesiastical structure in the colony. It was an important landmark in Wellington and its situation on Golder's Hill in Thorndon meant that it could be seen from many parts of the city and from points around the Wellington Harbour. Its beautiful, gilded statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, high up on the tower, and the gilded crosses on its parapets, gables and tower were particularly admired features.
On 1 May 1850, the barque Clara arrived in Wellington Harbour from Auckland bringing the first Bishop of the diocese, Philippe Joseph Viard, S.M. Within three weeks of his arrival, accumulated funds collected by Catholics were placed in a special bank account at his disposal, and the site for the new Cathedral was bought in Thorndon. The site is now occupied by Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington and Sacred Heart Cathedral School. The Bishop also chose as the site for his mission, two sections adjoining this, both in Hawkestone Street, now occupied by St Mary's College. These sections were given by the Hon. Henry Petre. The three sections were vested in the Bishop in 1853 by a Settlement of Wellington Town Grant. This was confirmed later by a Crown grant.
On 8 September 1850, on "a lovely day, bright, calm," the feast of the birthday of Mary, Bishop Viard laid, "with a procession and all form", the foundation stone of the church which was to be his cathedral. The ceremony was attended by over 2, 000 people. The Cathedral of St Mary was complete enough to be blessed and opened for worship on Sunday 7 December 1851, the eve of the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Some finishing work still remained to be done, but the Bishop wanted the context of the feast day, for the Cathedral was being dedicated to Mary under that title. A reporter said: "The consecration, including the celebration of Mass, occupied something more than four hours."
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Wikipedia