The proceeds from Maryville Courts will help fund the new $100 million Catholic cathedral and central city precinct, as well as new parish centres throughout the diocese.

The Archer Group, a Baptist Church trust retirement village operator is paying an undisclosed sum for Maryville. The sale is due to be settled in October.

It includes 65 villas, a community centre and gardens on a 1.9-hectare site on Salisbury and Manchester streets.

Maryville Courts was of the first retirement complexes of its type in New Zealand when it opened in the 1980s. Until now, it has been run by a Catholic charitable trust.

However, the city has been without a Catholic cathedral since the February 2011 earthquakes ruined the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Rebuilding means land and construction costs have to be met.

The new cathedral, a school and other facilities will be sited on Colombo St, opposite Victoria Square. The price ticket for that last piece of a bare riverside property cost $50m.

It is being designed now by Christchurch-based architects Warren and Mahoney Architects and American firm Franck & Lohsen Architects. It will hold 1000 people.

A property developer and investor who owns a piece in the middle of the site has an agreement with the church to build it a new office building and other facilities.

Tony Sewell, head of property for Christchurch's Catholic diocese, says they are "making progress" on the cathedral and overall precinct's design.

"We are planning this year, and we will be going from that to consenting probably next year."

The Catholic diocese says the Maryville sale is part of "a broader strategy associated with funding the new cathedral and new parish centres".

It is merging suburban parishes around Christchurch, and hopes to raise $26m from selling the surplus church sites. It may also sell the now-cleared Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament site.

In a statement, Archer Group general manager Graeme Mitchell said they were honoured to be buying Maryville, and he wanted to reassure Maryville Courts residents.

"Archer will strive to offer Maryville residents confidence for their future and provide these additional services for residents to enjoy as being part of the wider Archer family," he said.

Source

• Stuff
• Image: Stuff

Sisters from Community of the Beatitudes who saved the cathedral's inner dome from the scrapyard hope to resurrect it in the chapel they are planning to build.

They have consent for a new chapel, but need to raise $4 million for the building. Construction has to start by 2023.

The sisters carefully deconstructed the ornate dome and have been storing it in a shipping container on their North Canterbury property.

Catholic leaders had planned to scrap the dome if they could not find it a suitable new home.

The director of the Fourvière sanctuary, Michael Loretz, says he was stunned to see the dome sitting in the scrapyard about two months ago. The sanctuary is part of the same small Catholic community as the Sisters from Community of the Beatitudes.

"It was a lot smaller than we had imagined, and we thought it could fit into the rafters of the building that we have consented already," he says.

"We thought it would be a really nice way of making that artefact from the cathedral accessible to everyone and keeping it in a sacred context.

"We were all devastated when the cathedral was deemed irreparable, and we wanted to make sure this was saved."

Another option might be to suspend the dome above a large statue on the property.

The order was still in negotiations with Canterbury Catholic leaders about its most worthy use, he says.

The dome's interior of the dome is made up of 375 painted metal tiles screwed into a wooden frame. During the deconstruction process, the tiles were removed from the wooden frame, protected with bubble wrap and stored in a container.

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament has now been almost completely demolished.

Catholic diocese property head Tony Sewell says it will take two to three months to demolish the rest of it.

Three bishops buried under the floor of a side chapel will be disinterred in May, he says.

Most of the material from the cathedral will not be reused, although Sewell says the Oamaru stone columns salvaged from the demolition may find a new use.

"Most of the material there is not suitable for building something with. It is too weak," he says.

The diocese has bought multiple vacant properties in the central city to build a new cathedral between Victoria Square and the Avon River.

Loretz says he wants to rebuild and preserve the dome as a tribute to the demolished cathedral.

"We want to put it back together, so it is a beautiful example of what the cathedral used to look like.

"It was a lovely building."

Source

• Stuff
• Image: Stuff

The $1.8 million demolition project began in September.

Bishop Paul Martin announced in August last year that he wanted to demolish the cathedral, which was completed in 1905.

He said the building was too expensive to restore and chose to build a new one for about $40m on a site closer to the city centre.

Heritage campaigners were unable to mount a legal challenge to the demolition. Read more

The dome was painstakingly rescued from the stricken Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes St in 2011 and has been in safe storage ever since.

Catholic diocese property head Tony Sewell said many materials recovered from the cathedral during demolition, which started about a month ago, could be sold as salvage or sent to landfill. Read more

Tony Sewell is the project director for the Catholic Cathedral precinct, which includes the development and construction of the new Cathedral and the deconstruction/demolition of the old Cathedral.

"The building is very dangerous. We have had one or two incidents of falling pieces of material, which make us glad we are taking the approach we have," Sewell said.

He says many of the important artefacts have already been removed.

Now they are trying to determine if they can save some of the remaining items include stained glass windows, the organ and the Llew Summers Stations of the Cross.

"Can we put that person in there safely and not put their life at risk to save these things.

And what is the cost of doing that? Or do we have to take it down in another way to allow that to happen?

"I can't say to people yes we will save the Stations of the Cross or this or that because we can't ascertain it until we go through these stages."

Sculptor Llew Summers' 14 Stations of the Cross were commissioned for the Cathedral in 2000, but the sculptures attracted controversy due to Jesus being depicted naked in one of the images.

To save the Stations of the Cross, they would need to put someone into the building to physically remove them by breaking them out of the walls, where they are plastered in.

"These are the issues we are dealing with.

It's not just a question of getting someone to walk in there with a chisel and chip them off the wall. It's just not that easy," Sewell said.

He said they also have to consider whether the cost of removing the organ, for example, would be more than the cost of putting a new organ into a new building.

Source

• rnz.co.nz
• Image: tuimotu

The Bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin, said he is still considering whether to restore the cathedral, knock it down and build a new one, or move to a new site.

In May, Martin said he was sceptical the $105 million restoration budget for the cathedral would not increase. He also questioned the morality of raising the $70m shortfall for the cathedral when it could be spent on other priorities in the city.

He has also put all planned Catholic building projects in Christchurch on hold while a review of parish and church numbers in the city is conducted.

"We are looking at the number of priests and where our people are and where the city has developed," he said.

"It is an overall review. Do we have too many churches across the city? [We will look at] the financial implications of insurance and running all those buildings."

He said the review may result in fewer Catholic parishes in the city.

"I would be surprised if we didn't, but people are very connected to their parishes so we have to be very sensitive to that."

Martin said the review would conclude at the same time as a decision is reached on the cathedral.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

Writing in First Things, Stephen Schmalhofer opines: "Let us hope that Macauley's unknown traveler will arrive with plenty of practice sketching the restored cathedral domes in Christchurch.

"To honor the blood and sweat of the missionary New Zealand Church and the genius of Francis Petre, the Church must rebuild Christchurch Basilica.

"As New York City considers the reconstruction of McKim, Mead, and White's masterpiece Penn Station, the Diocese of Christchurch has an opportunity to rebuild and celebrate a great Kiwi Catholic architect praised by George Bernard Shaw as the New Zealand Brunelleschi," he said.

Schmalhofer warns that the row over the future of the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral should concern Catholics fighting for the restoration of the basilica.

He describes Bishop Victoria Matthews as "a utilitarian posing as an almoner."

He says her position as being "part of a long and ignoble tradition. 'It would be better to use the money for the poor' (Jn 13:29) is the voice of betrayal, not benefaction."

"Pope Francis has urged Christians to go to the periphery of the world," write Schamalhofer.

"If we go to the periphery, we must prove by our sacred architecture that those we find there now occupy the same pride of place in the Church as Borgo Pio."

Schmalhofer lives in Connecticut. He has a B.A. in history from Yale University where he was an Ivy League champion football player.

He is a partner in Teamworthy Ventures, an organisation that seeks "to develop long-term relationships with talented and trustworthy entrepreneurs and teams, and we invest in their ventures at the seed, early or growth stage."

His parish church is Saint John the Evangelist.

According to Wikipedia, Pope Benedict XVI raised Saint John's Parish to the dignity and title of Minor Basilica on July 16, 2009.

The designation is based on its sanctuary size, historical importance, art and recognition within the Diocese.

Source

• firstthings.com
• yale.academia.edu
• elminstitute.org
• linkedin.com
• Image: David Wethey NZPA

A long-time member of the Catholic Cathedral Management Board, he has a deep understanding of property matters in relation to the Diocese.

"The Diocese has tread a very sensible and measured path in dealing with the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and other churches and schools damaged in the earthquakes, and it is essential that we keep this momentum going. Continue reading

Preliminary reports on the land and foundations on which Christchurch's Catholic Cathedral sits are positive.

The detailed content of the reports has not been made public yet.

Property and Development Manager Keith Beal says the church's attempts to 'save the nave' are making progress with their proposed repair techniques being ratified.

The late Bishop Barry Jones, when making his initial decision last year to attempt to ‘save the nave,' decreed that this would have to be done within a budget cap of $45 million.

Beal said that they are not going to come back with a perfect replica. What they will do is incorporate the most significant elements of the cathedral into a future design.

The cap was set in place to ensure that there would be sufficient funding, including the insurance proceeds, to meet the needs of the cathedral and all parishes in the Diocese.

"Fundraising is the challenge we now face and our attention is fully focused on ensuring that we are able to achieve the first steps in rebuilding the cathedral by 'saving the nave' inside this budget," Beal says.

"Once the investigations into the costs of are complete, only then will we be making a statement on the future of the cathedral. As indicated earlier, that is still expected to be in September."

Interview with Keith Beal
Source

• chch.catholic.org.nz
• newshub.co.nz
• Image: chch.catholic.org

The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch has capped the cost for this first stage of the restoration at $45 million.

It is seeking to fundraise raise $15 million of that total.

The proposed restoration of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament involves demolishing the front of the building and retaining the main body of the cathedral.

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority has given the go ahead under Section 38 of the CER Act.

This approval means that the diocese can move forward with its plans to carefully remove badly damaged parts of the church to take "all reasonable steps" to save the nave of the building.

The Bishop of Christchurch, Barry Jones, says the staging process is a positive way to move forward ensuring the best future for the Cathedral.

"I am delighted to announce today that I can move forward with recovery plans for the Cathedral and all parishes."

"CERA's commissioning of works gives the certainty needed to begin the major programme of work to repair, rebuild and strengthen those buildings impacted by the Christchurch earthquakes," he said.

Lance Ryan, chairman of the Cathedral Management Board says that stage one will mostly consist of clearing the areas around the nave so a fuller investigation can be carried out on the ground underneath.

Stage one is expected to take 12 months.

Detailed engineering assessments focussed on the retention of the nave will commence later this year.

"Depending on the outcome of those studies, we very much hope that the beautiful nave can be saved."

The deconstruction must be in accordance with a demolition plan put together by the Diocese and its representatives which follows a 12 stage 'Test/Hold' process.

This means each stage must be approved by CERA before work commences.

Keith Beal, Property and Development Manager for the Diocese, says this outcome means that in addition to a number of smaller schemes already underway across the Diocese, some of the larger and more complex ones will now commence.

"This is a significant decision and the Diocese is grateful to CERA for the time taken to give careful consideration to its submission and the wider impact on recovery for the Catholic communities and the city of Christchurch.

"Adoption of the 12 stage test/hold process will ensure that the conditions placed upon the Diocese will be comprehensively monitored and complied with.

"On behalf of the Bishop and the Diocesan team I think it important to acknowledge the work of Heritage New Zealand, Christchurch City Council, Opus Consulting, Sir Miles Warren and the army of archaeologists, structural engineers, legal and planning advisors who helped identify all options."

Once the deconstruction has been completed and a full investigation undertaken of the nave and the ground conditions, the Diocese will be in a better position to consult more widely on the future of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

Source

• chch.catholic.org.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• nbr.co.nz
• Image: nbr.co.nz

The editorial explains how public reaction to the two Churches has differed and suggest the reason can be found in their history and current use.

Since the earthquakes, debate has raged about the Anglican cathedral in the Square but there has been relatively little controversy over the fate of its Catholic counterpart.

The relative heat in discussions about the two can be judged in the number of hits for the phrases "Christ Church Cathedral" and "Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament" in the electronic archive of The Press since 2011.

The Anglican cathedral rates more than 850 mentions; the Catholic one just 150.

The editorial suggests that the positions of the two buildings in the life of the city owe much to history, and particularly to the founding of Christchurch as a supposedly model Anglican settlement, in which the cathedral of that denomination - after much delay, it must be said - eventually took the central position.

This also had the effect of bestowing the Christ Church Cathedral with a secular and civic significance which is reflected in the passionate debate over its future.

The arguments surrounding it are roughly divided between these ecclesiastic and civic factions - lately more awkwardly expressed as the "churched" and the "unchurched".

The Catholic cathedral, on the other hand, although much admired for its architecture, was always predominantly a place of religious worship without parallel secular significance.

Source

• stuff.co.nz

The Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (dubbed ‘the Basilica' by the media) on the edge of the CBD was also a landmark , and is being disassembled stone by stone, with the possibility of a rebuild. The soil underneath is being tested for load-bearing given the amount of liquefaction that occurred. Meanwhile the Catholic Bishop has taken over the city parish church of St Mary's Manchester Street as ‘Pro-Cathedral'. The Bishop and his advisors are contemplating the insurance payout, and options open to them.

In the middle of all this speculation an informal proposal surfaced along the lines of what quite a few people had been thinking: Why not have one Cathedral for Christchurch shared by the two Dioceses. One ‘cathedra' (throne) shared by two traditions. On their own ‘diocesan occasions' each Bishop would preside. Each has already got their temporary ‘home church', and occasionally both congregations can worship together. Unprecedented? Probably. Difficult to bring about? Very. An exponential leap forward in Ecumenism? Yes. A huge savings in resources for both dioceses? Yes. A common sense solution for a shattered city? Definitely.

To make it possible, the bishops would have to agree to explore the possibility in principle. Rome and Lambeth would have to agree not to veto. The dioceses would commission their theologians to come up with a plan capable of being accepted by both traditions, foreshadowing changes to canon law and even Acts of Parliament. Then it will be up to each Diocesan Authority to sell it to their own people, each having to make major concessions.

Sections of each Diocese will object strongly. It is up to the theological commission to anticipate these difficulties and answer them. I have already heard it said that the Anglicans will never allow statues of Mary in a shared Cathedral. But some of the most beautiful Lady Chapels in the world are in Anglican Cathedrals. What about the tabernacle? Well, a separate Blessed Sacrament chapel is standard in most new Catholic Cathedrals, so the problem may never arise.

This is a unique opportunity that may never arise again. A bold initiative like this would do much to restore the morale of the divided population of ‘quake city.' It may capture the imagination of the whole Christian world. Christchurch Unity Cathedral could become a place of pilgrimage.

Sources

• Fr. Brian O'Connell, S.M. in The Marist Messenger
• Image: Eventfinda