New chapel next to locked St Mary’s Church in Hokitika - CathNews New Zealand

New chapel next to locked St Mary’s Church in Hokitika

Monday, September 11th, 2023

A new chapel will be built next door to the locked St Mary’s Church in Hokitika, parishioners have been told.

The news – delivered at Mass last weekend – dashes hopes for a $2 million contribution from the Christchurch Catholic Diocese towards re-strengthening and reopening the existing church, which was closed 10 years ago.

Friends of St Mary’s (FOSM) spokesman Mike Keenan said the diocese funds would instead be put into the new church, which was planned for the footprint of the recently vacated presbytery.

It follows consultation directed by the diocese on where the parish wanted to be in the next 10 years.

Mr Keenan said it was “disappointing” that the consultation did not include a buildings option.

Bishop Gielen wanted the closed St Mary’s to stay on site. Continue reading

Related Posts:

Additional reading

News category: New Zealand, News Shorts.

Tags: Christchurch Diocese, Hokitika

Analysis and Comment
- The inheritance of Anzac Day
  
  Each year the eve of Anzac Day is given over to the International Day of Multiculturalism and Diplomacy for Peace. This year the conjunction is particularly apposite at a time when the air is full of wars and rumours of Read more
- Experts at Rome meet – delve into historical abuses of power
  
  The nature of power and how the abuse of power has been dealt with in the past and present were the focus of an international conference in Rome attended by about a dozen scholars earlier this month. Experts in history, Read more
- Gathered around the altar
  
  “Without liturgical reform, there is no reform of the Church,” Pope Francis said emphatically last February during an address to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. His remarks came around the Read more
- The real cause of the war in Gaza—and the only path to peace
  
  We have already seen six months of war in Gaza. Now, it seems that Israel is beginning its last phase of conquest, after ordering a million and a half people to take refuge in Rafah, a border town with Egypt. Read more

Search CathNews

Search for:
CathNews
is free

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:
Great Reads