Cathedral

Sixteen years after the first major earthquake, Bishop Michael Gielen says there is a sense of joy and anticipation as plans for the new Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament are unveiled.

Bishop Gielen wrote a pastoral letter that was read at Masses across the Diocese on Sunday, marking the official launch of the campaign to build the new Cathedral.

In the letter, the 11th Bishop of Christchurch said the Catholic faithful of today have the "responsibility" and "privilege" of building a Cathedral - something the first bishop carried more than 120 years ago.

"Our Catholic communities have changed in the decades since Bishop Grimes led our Diocese, but our desire for beauty, for welcome and for honouring God has not," Bishop Gielen said.

Over the past six months, a robust architect selection process has been undertaken. Bishop Michael is delighted to announce that Warren & Mahoney have been chosen to design the new Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and the surrounding precinct.

Warren and Mahoney is one of New Zealand's leading architectural firms, working on iconic buildings including the Christchurch Town Hall, Te Pae Convention Centre and the Justice Precinct.

We are confident Warren & Mahoney are the right partners to walk with our Catholic community in the design of a worthy house of worship to glorify God and be a beacon of hope for our city.

Please continue to pray for God’s grace and the generosity on all this sacred journey.

Read the full media release

The design brief [for our cathedral] has recently been shared with a number of leading New Zealand architectural firms that we believe have the experience and capacity to work with us in designing our new cathedral. The brief has already gone through many iterations; it will continue to evolve during this period.

We look forward to choosing a genuine partner in this project – an architect that will share our aspiration to build a cathedral that is worthy of being our spiritual centre in the diocese and can be a beacon of hope for our city.

Read Bishop Michael’s pastoral letter

Over the past two months, we have walked a unique and privileged journey. As we prepare to build the first new Catholic cathedral in Aotearoa New Zealand in 120 years, we have thought and prayed about a patronal name for that cathedral.

I recently shared with you my desire and my prayer that our new cathedral name would be one fitting for this time and for this place. Supported by your hopes and your prayers, guided by a group of advisers and strengthened by my own prayer, this period of discernment has ended.

I can announce today that the name of our new cathedral will be: Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament – Te Hāhi Matua o te Hākarameta Tapu Rawa.

Click here to read Bishop Michael’s pastoral letter

For the past four months, in a time of prayerful discernment, the People of God have responded generously to my invitation to consider the future site of our new Catholic cathedral.

The decision was one on which I wanted the thoughts of our Catholic people, especially those living within our Diocese who have a deep desire for a permanent spiritual home.

That included our priests and religious, Catholic Maori, a range of technical experts and, over these past few months, the wider Church community. I am grateful to all those who have contributed to this process.

I can now announce that our new cathedral will be built on Barbadoes Street. We have 85 per cent of survey respondents express that location as their preference.

Click here to read Bishop Michael’s pastoral letter