Holy Cross church is one of three churches in the parish.

Safety paramount

Although 13 years have passed since the Christchurch Earthquake, the parish stated that "the decision is based on recent earthquakes and torrential downpours which have further deteriorated the condition of our church.

"As a result, the Finance Committee and Parish Leadership team have reviewed the church's deterioration and concluded that it poses a serious risk to the health and safety of our parishioners, visitors and clergy."

Issues noted during the inspection include, but are not limited to, the following:

• New visible cracks inside and outside
• Visible separation between steel beams and wall structures
• Interior water damage related to roof issues
• Dangerously compromised electrical system (water leaking onto heaters)
• Water damage including wet and mouldy carpets

In a letter to parishioners, the church's leaders expressed their commitment to safety - "The health and safety of our community is paramount".

The leaders recalled significant concerns after the Christchurch Earthquake

Parishioners' responses mixed

"I can't believe it's taken so long to come to a decision" a parishoner told CathNews.

He said that for many years, the church has been deemed suitable for Mass, funerals, confession and baptisms but, as it did not meet the earthquake safety standards for educational institutions, Holy Cross School chose not to use it.

Not everyone shares this pragmatic view.

For many, the closure signals the loss of not just a building but also the heart of the Miramar community.

Longtime parishioner Margaret lamented, "This church sits in the middle of the Miramar community. It has been our sanctuary, and to think it could crumble around us is unimaginable".

"It's a sacred space and it's like losing a piece of our history.

"It clearly highlights the fragile balance between faith and reality" she said.

Last Mass and the future

Parish leaders confirmed that the last Mass at Holy Cross will be held on Sunday 22 September, and services will shift to St Patrick's Church in Kilbirnie from Sunday 29 September.

In the wake of the Christchurch Earthquake, the Archdiocese of Wellington launched "Project Stronger". Its main task was the seismic assessment of archdiocesan and parish buildings.

Some parishes rejoiced when their churches were reassessed only as a risk after being initially deemed earthquake-prone.

It is yet to be decided if Holy Cross Church's closing will be permanent. However, in 2022, a poor seismic report closed the Wellington Archdiocese's Catholic Centre. It has yet to reopen.

Wellington Archbishop Paul Martin approved the Miramar church's closing.

Sources

• Holy Trinity Parish
• Archdiocese of Wellington
• Archdiocese of Wellington
• CathNews

What distinguishes the College is that it is ingeniously nestled under the expanse of an existing giant warehouse roof on Lydia Street.

"Most people are quite surprised. You can't see much from the outside because of the warehouse structure, but once you come in, it's remarkable. And so most people are completely blown away by it" said Marian College Principal Mary-Lou Davidson.

The project, hailed as the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere, marks a significant departure from traditional school building designs and offers a unique blend of industrial aesthetics with cutting-edge educational facilities.

Spanning 7,000 square metres, the complex boasts 26 classrooms, a full-size gymnasium and four multi-use indoor sport courts, setting a new standard for future school construction.

Board chairperson Carmel Gregan-Ford reflected on the significance of the school's journey to its new home, acknowledging the community's collective effort in reaching this milestone.

"Many of you here today have been part of Marian College's journey to this point in one way or another" she told guests.

The journey to this momentous occasion shas panned over a decade, driven by the necessity to find a permanent home for the school's 430 pupils following the devastation of its former site in Shirley by the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes.

Marian College has moved four times during the 12 years since the earthquake.

The College now looks forward to a stable and prosperous future in its innovative new home in its state-of-the-art educational facility.

The innovation sets a precedent for adaptive reuse in educational spaces across the southern hemisphere.

The Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust purchased the former Marian College campus in Richmond and will centralise its South Island services in a new facility there.

Sources

• Star News
• Wikipedia
• Marian College

The ground shifted when the City Council revised its CBD roading plans.

Developers - those putting up millions and encouraging growth - don't want one-way streets near their sites. Not when they were supposed to be two-way streets.

One of the many projects caught in the middle is the planned Cathedral precinct car park.

What's happening

The Council has devised a $33 million plan to make roads around Christchurch's new Te Kaha stadium more pedestrian-friendly.

Part of the plan would make Lichfield St one-way, with a 10kph speed limit between Madras and Manchester Streets.

It's thought safety is likely to improve.

Three-quarters of the 1,200 submitters supported the change of plan.

As a consequence, Philip Carter (pictured with former Bishop of Christchurch Paul Martin) and several Christchurch developers are scaling back major projects in the area, putting others on hold and threatening to pull out of the central city.

The Council is breaking promises made in earlier post-earthquake rebuild documents, they say. The developers are being left without certainty.

Carter says the documents show Lichfield St would remain two-way. The street is an "artery" for a car park which he and Christchurch's Catholic diocese are developing.

Now the Council is "tampering" with it. Making it one-way would break trust, he said. He has "deep concerns" about anything that affected traffic coming into the city.

Investors don't want to put their money into developments on one-way streets, he indicated.

The Cathedral precinct

The car park joint venture the diocese and Carter are working on is for a 600-space parking building in the precinct. Offices for youth ministry and social services staff, plus accommodation for the bishop and priests are included with the plans.

Carter says he won't be doing this if the Council's plans go ahead. (Nor will he be building planned hotels in the vicinity.)

If Carter does pull out, the Church's plans for the precinct will obviously be affected.

It's a project the diocese has been looking forward to.

When it was first announced, then Catholic Bishop of Christchurch Paul Martin said he was keen for the Cathedral - which the Carter Group has been chosen to build - to be at the heart of the city.

The precinct will be handy for the congregation, school groups and the public, with room for up to 1000 people, he said at the time.

He was pleased the precinct would stay open to the public to walk through. It would provide a pedestrian link from New Regent St to the Avon River.

Fundraising for the Church's estimated share of the development, including land and buildings has begun, to cover:

• $85 million for the Cathedral
• $11 million for the relocated St Mary's primary school
• $30 million for the diocesan share of a joint venture with Carter to the 600-space parking building.

Martin said the plan took over a year to put together behind the scenes, involving several landowners as well as the Church and Crown.

Sources

• Stuff
• Stuff

Restore Our Catholic Cathedral (ROCC) spokeswoman Dame Anna Crighton said they had given up their legal battle after receiving legal advice from barrister Prudence Stevens, which concluded the section 38 notice could not be challenged in the courts.

The only thing we could do is file an injunction to stop the work. But if we do that, and we lose, we have to pay all the legal costs," Crighton said.

"It was always going to be a challenge."

"The only thing we can do is shame them and let people know that we did try."

The diocese has since acknowledged that demolition cannot start until a work plan is approved. Approval by Information New Zealand (Linz), the Government agency that oversees the emergency earthquake power, in the form of a section 38 notice, is being sought.

Linz property and land manager Matt Bradley said a decision should be reached on the demolition plan within a week.

A spokesman for the Catholic diocese said demolition work would commence only once the plan was approved by Linz.

Crighton received the title Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2020 New Year honours.

She had long campaigned to protect New Zealand's historic buildings but stepped up after the 2011 earthquake.

She was a Christchurch City Councillor for twelve years (1995-2007) during which time she chaired the Arts Culture and Heritage Committee.

Crighton has helped restore the quake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal in her role as director of the theatre's charitable foundation.

She also helped preserve more than a dozen Christchurch heritage buildings.

She has a PhD from Otago University. The subject of her thesis is The selection and presentation culture of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• heritageawards.co.nz
• otago.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com
• Image: rnz.co.nz

The $1.8 million demolition project is expected to take a year and started this week with three workers salvaging two stone angels from the front of the historic building.

Catholic Bishop Paul Martin said he was sad to demolish the cathedral.

He said in a statement on Tuesday the building was still unstable.

"Even though much work has occurred over many years to remove badly damaged sections of the cathedral as part of the stabilisation process, the site remains very hazardous and dangerous."

Some artefacts will be preserved

Martin said the cathedral's angels and some stone columns would be salvaged as part of the demolition.

"But any other salvage activities will be opportunistic in nature, and subject to being able to safely access areas of the building.

This also includes the recovery of other items such as stained glass windows and plaques.

Ornate stone elements may be retained for future projects where opportunities are identified.

While it would be desirable to incorporate some of the recovered artefacts into the new cathedral, successfully merging two architectural styles from different eras into a modern building can be extremely difficult to achieve."

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel and Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb have both called for historic treasures like a 19th Century organ, a stained glass window by artist Philip Trusttum, and the Stations of the Cross carvings by late artist Llew Summers to be saved.

Heritage New Zealand saddened

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga southern regional director Sheila Watson said she was "saddened" to see the demolition of the significant Category 1 historic place level begin.

"We understand the Bishop and his advisors have undertaken a serious and methodical consideration of the options to restore the basilica but unfortunately have come to the decision to demolish it."

Opposition continues

Heritage campaigner Anna Crighton said she was getting legal advice on whether the demolition could be challenged.

Fellow heritage campaigner Ross Gray said a pressure group called Restore Our Catholic Cathedral (ROCC) had been formed to challenge the demolition.

The Wizard of Christchurch, Ian Brackenbury Channell, has added his voice to the opposition.

In a recent 7-part video series the Wizard revealed that his fiancee had opposed the demolition of the Catholic Cathedral.

"Now my fiancee Alice (in an alchemical marriage), who was a trustee of the Catholic Cathedral in the past, is in the thick of the fight to stop the new Catholic Bishop rushing to demolish the Catholic Cathedral on shaky legal grounds and at a time of great economic uncertainty. The pro-Cathedral is functioning very well," he said.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

The terms of the sale are confidential to the parties and settlement of the transaction will occur in late May 2021.

Late last year the church announced its plan to build a school, church headquarters, parking building, and a replacement for the quake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

The new Catholic cathedral to be built between Victoria Square and the Avon River.

The old cathedral, on Barbadoes St, is to be demolished.

The church has already bought most of the land for the new precinct - which will occupy the block bordered by Colombo, Armagh and Manchester sts and Oxford Tce.

Bishop Paul Martin said the agreement ensured "that the diocese's vision for the precinct on which the land is situated will now be able to be fully met."

The new precinct will be built for the diocese by the Carter Group, which is progressively selling its own large chunk of land on the block, including the former PricewaterhouseCoopers site, to the church.

MCK Managing Director Mr BK Chiu has thanked the Bishop and his representatives for the constructive way in which negotiations were handled over the last few weeks.

The Bishop also acknowledged MCK's cooperation to ensuring that the Diocese's vision for the precinct on which the land is situated will now be able to be fully met.

Designs for the new cathedral and a timetable for construction are not yet completed.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• links.sgx.com
• Image: stuff.co.nz

Bishop Grimes, Bishop Edward Joyce, Bishop John Cunneen, are buried under the floor of a side chapel of the cathedral.

Grimes, the first bishop of Christchurch, was the driving force behind the building of the cathedral.

The diocese has also applied to disinter Father Laurentine Ginaty and Bishop Matthew Brodie from a chapel at the St John of God hospital.

The future of the Chapel is uncertain.

A notice of an application to disinter the four bishops and the priest has been published in a local newspaper.

The notice also calls for any living descendants of the men to come forward.

The disinterment application is part of early preparations for the demolition of the cathedral.

Catholic diocese property head Tony Sewell the notice is just the start of the process.

"This is just to do with the burials so that we know when we invoke section 38 we have all things covered.

We are making sure we are following all the steps required."

The notice says that the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch knows of no surviving next of kin for Father Ginaty, Bishop Grimes, Bishop Brodie nor Bishop Joyce.

"But it must use its best endeavours to ensure that any such person is consulted," Sewell said.

The disinterment application requires that a public notice looking for relatives of the deceased bishops he said.

"Any living family members would be consulted on where the bishops would be reburied.

Grimes has been gone a long time. There may be some family members that we need to talk to, and that is how we find them," he said.

"It is important we track down any family members we need to consult with and get approvals from."

Source

stuff.co.nz

nzherald.co.nz

Plans are still being drafted for the rebuild of the cathedral, but today's visit attracted those who worked inside its walls for decades. Read more

There are several different designs that will run every night from 6-10pm, finishing at the end of August. Read more

$200,000 left to the church in a will had no specific provision for restoration of the basilica. The donated total of $350,000 would be used for the planned new cathedral, he said.

In 2017 The Washington DC Catholic diocese donated $200,000 in 2017 as a "sign of solidarity".

At the time, the Canterbury diocese was considering preserving just the central part of the earthquake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

The cathedral's $30 million insurance payout will be used to fix other damaged buildings throughout the Catholic diocese of the city including the building of a new cathedral.

The plan now is to build a new cathedral opposite Victoria Square on Colombo St.

Heritage advocates are disappointed by the decision to demolish Christchurch's Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

"We tried to get a sounding board from different people, we're not running a referendum in the end and, as the bishop, the decision rests with me," Bishop Martin told Newshub.

Parishioners are accepting of the bishops decision, calling it a "big loss" and "sad occasion".

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel told Newshub she understands it's been a tough call for the bishop and there will be genuine sadness over the decision.

But the Catholic Church does have the legal authority to demolish the building she said.

Martin is working with engineers and safety experts to allow parishioners to attend a special event to farewell the iconic cathedral.

Source

• newshub.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• insurancebusinessmag.com
• Image: naylorlove.co.nz

But Christchurch Regeneration Minister, Megan Woods says the city needs to accept the church's decision and move on.

Woods said she had many fond memories of the cathedral having gone to school next to it, but the decision to demolish was one for the church to make.

"We do need to move on, as sad as it is, a decision has been made.

The last thing the people of Christchurch need to see is another building getting bogged down in legal wrangling."

In a pastoral letter read out in all parishes on Sunday the catholic bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin announced decision demolish the cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

The decision was necessary because the cathedral could not pass a 12-point test set out in the notice that was issued in 2015 by CERA (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority).

A fight brewing

Despite Wood's advice, the situation is fast becoming a re-play of the prolonged disagreement over the future of Christchurch's Anglican Cathedral.

Some see the building as an architectural gem. They want to preserve it

Others want a functional and functioning place of worship.

Restore the Cathedral

Former cabinet minister Peter Dunne took to Twitter saying:

"A Canadian Anglican Bishop tried to tear down Christchurch's Anglican cathedral and failed. Now an outsider Catholic Bishop wants to do likewise to his cathedral. Will this be a similar battle & outcome?"

Heritage advocate Anna Crighton said there was outrage in the community.

She was ready to fight for the building's survival.

"Rest assured it will not go unchallenged," she said.

When asked where the money would come from for a challenge, Crighton said: "It's always easy to find money for a good cause".

Demolish and build elsewhere

Martin says the diocese has spent millions of dollars investigating the site and the building.

It has looked at more than 20 different possibilities:

"But ultimately we were unable to find a functional and financial solution."

Section 38 of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act allowed for the deconstruction of the Cathedral, in the quest to save the nave and other parts.

Section 38 also gave the Diocese the power to demolish the whole building if it could not pass the 12-point test outlined in the application.

One option was to save the nave but with a much reduced new sanctuary and no towers at the front.

To do this would cost $91m.

Martin says the resulting building would not be fit for purpose.

The second option, a complete restoration, would cost $149m.

There is $30 million set aside for the cathedral from the diocese's insurance payout is available to go towards fixing other damaged buildings throughout the diocese.

Source

• rnz.co.nz
• chchcatholic.no
• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• tvnz.co.nz
• twitter.com
• Image: John Kirk-Anderson/Stuff

The service took place at Christchurch Boys' High School Auditorium.

It was led by Archbishops Philip Richardson and Don Tamihere.

About 1000 people attended including Anglicans from the diocese and the province, members of the Maori Anglican Church, Tikanga Maori, the Pacific Anglican Church, Tikanga Pasifika, heads of other denominations, civic leaders, business leaders and the new Bishop's family and friends.

Carrell's installation was celebrated in a second service in Cathedral Square on Sunday. The bishop said the location of the installation was deliberate.

In an interview prior to his installation, Carrel said he had chosen to hold his installation ceremony in front of the ruined Christ Church Cathedral as a symbol of his commitment to restoration.

"I wanted to make clear that we are really connected to the cathedral and its future in the Square."

On Sunday he reiterated his commitment: "Today I am not able to be installed inside the cathedral but I am glad to be installed as close to it as safety permits.

One day we will be inside the cathedral again and, when we re-open it, I will stand outside the main doors, eager to bang on the doors with my crozier, a custom normally associated with an installation service."

The Gothic-style 138-year-old Anglican cathedral was badly damaged in the 6.3-magnitude February 22, 2011, quake that devastated Christchurch.

Last year, the Government and Anglican Diocese of Christchurch agreed on a funding and joint-venture deal for a $104 million restoration.

Two large cranes began work in December to remove steel framing that has propped up the front of the Cathedral for several years.

At the time Keith Paterson said the aim was for the steel framing to be deconstructed by early February, in time for the installation.

Paterson is the project director for Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Limited (CCRL).

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• voxy.co.nz
• voxy.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

The cathedral has sat desolate since the 2011 earthquakes, as the Anglican Church and heritage groups battled over its future. Continue reading

The Colombo St chapel was built by the Sisters of Mercy in 1911, and shared a site with the convent and St Mary's College.

The Christchurch City Council has owned the building since the mid-1990s and budgeted $2.5 million for the repair. Read more

David Morrell, who is a canon emeritus of the cathedral and former city missioner, said there had been "zilch" progress since the church agreed to fix the central Christchurch building nine months ago. Continue reading

It received a "four-star" award which represents "New Zealand Best Practice".

Foley Group Architecture building architect and parishioner Paul Foley said the quest for green star rating had been driven by the Catholic Diocese.

"It wants all new churches to be Green Star-rated, which is a great philosophy and one that required a steep learning curve to understand and implement the materials and procedures that would ensure the design, construction and now operation of the church is done on a more sustainable, efficient and productive way," he said.

Green Star is a tool to support those involved in the property and construction sectors to design, construct and operate projects in a more sustainable, efficient and productive way.

To rate a building or fitout's overall environmental impact, Green Star rating tools award points across nine categories: energy, water, materials, indoor environment quality (IEQ), transport, land use and ecology, management, emissions, and innovation.

The star rating ranges from zero, assessed, to six, world leader.

St Mary's has a capacity for 175 people, which can be increased to 250 by opening doors to the adjoining community centre.

Its framework is an intricate steel structure with concrete tilt panel walls and acoustically designed plywood panels.

"Throughout we have had the full support of the parishioners but, now that the church is complete, it is up to the community to respond to the challenges regarding the procedures and operation of the church to ensure they are sustainable and efficient for the good of our environment," said Foley.

"The local community has worked very hard on the rebuild of this beautiful church which will serve the community well for years to come".

Source

• star.kiwi
• nzgbc.org.nz
• Image: star.kiwi

One tent seats up to 500 people, and the other up to 120, at the Living Waters Christian Centre in the Christchurch suburb of Halswell on the southern outskirts of the city.

Read more

She was speaking at a special Choral Eucharist in Christchurch's Transitional Cathedral last Sunday.

She said the Christchurch Cathedral restoration is being driven by "the wealthy and the powerful."

"Business as usual folks, with the wealthy and powerful telling you, the people of Canterbury, that they know best - good luck with that," Matthews said.

"To reinstate a very damaged building, so people can say 'we like the outside of it', seems to me somewhat misdirected.

"I wonder what an empty cathedral would be an icon of."

The retiring Anglican bishop of Christchurch New Zealand, Victoria Matthews put these question last year in an interview on National Radio's Checkpoint programme.

Matthews asked tough moral and theological questions that few in the secular world ever had to confront until earthquakes changed everything in Christchurch, according to an editorial in the Christchurch Press.

She asked how a church should serve its public, what its buildings are for and what its priorities should be.

In announcing her resignation Matthews said, "I'm not retiring and I'm not in ill health, I am merely following where my Saviour is leading me, wherever that may be."

The cathedral debate has been so dominant that Matthews' emphasis on community work and social justice has often been overlooked.

She said in 2008 that "it's all too easy in the First World to live in isolated splendour and I would like every Anglican to be deeply aware that they are brothers and sisters to people living in extraordinarily bad circumstances in other parts of the world".

A multimillion-dollar youth hub to address a rise in Christchurch youth homelessness and mental health issues is on the cards after years of battling to get the project off the ground.

Anglican Care, the Anglican Church's social service agency, stepped in to help last year and bought the old bowling club site on Salisbury St in central Christchurch for $4 million.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• anglicannews.org
• stuff.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: josephjohnson/stuff.co.nz

The congregation had been meeting in a nearby community hall while the earthquake-damaged church was painstakingly rebuilt.

An opening ceremony for the newly-finished building drew a large crowd on Sunday.

Dozens of parishioners gathered in the car park ahead of Sunday's service, which included speeches from the pastoral council, the building's architect, Paul Foley, and Christchurch East MP Poto Williams.

The opening ceremony also served as the first formal event for the Christchurch's newly-ordained bishop, Paul Martin.

A plaque commemorating the opening of the church was unveiled and blessed.

"The local community have worked very hard on the rebuild of the church. The new church is beautiful and will serve the community well for years to come," said Stopforth.

He said there had been a "signification process around the design of the church and rebuild".

With stark white walls and a large black cross marking the main entrance, the building looked very different compared to the orange brick exterior it had previously.

Within greater Christchurch, 11 diocese-owned churches, including St Mary's in New Brighton, were demolished after the quakes. Seven others were severely damaged and unable to be used and, of those, five are yet to be repaired.