Engineers have told the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Wellington that it meets less than 33 percent of the new building standard.
The 117-year-old cathedral has been evaluated by engineers in a verbal report and a brief written assessment.
Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Reverend Father James Lyons said beams in the roof needed to be strengthened.
But everything else met the earthquake code.
Father Lyons said the cathedral could stay open while they were waiting for a full engineering report to be released.
A rating under 34 percent is classed as earthquake-prone under the code.