The Catholic bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin, says the diocese is in talks over the purchase of a city centre site near Cathedral Square, which he declined to name. Martin said the land purchase talks were part of an assessment of three options for the 113-year-old Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament which was severely damaged in Read more
The Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin is reconsidering restoration of the earthquake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The diocese has about $30m from insurance but the total cost of a complete restoration is estimated to be in the region of $100 million. That leaves about $70m to be obtained from fund-raising. Martin has questioned the Read more
A writer living in the United States has made a plea for the Catholic Christchurch Basilica to be restored. 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 Read more
Interactive panels erected outside the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch will give visitors a video and pictorial view of the Catholic basilica’s history and also the damage sustained in the earthquakes. The 12 panels, four of which have been printed with an interactive QR code, have created a timeline from 1860 to the Read more
The Catholic diocese of Christchurch is waiting for the appointment of a new Bishop to get approval for the restoration of the earthquake damaged Cathedral. “We are ready to go in a sense, but we can’t do anything that compromises the bishop’s decision,” said the administrator of the Christchurch Diocese Fr Rick Loughnan. He said Read more
Recent engineering and geotechnical reports are showing “positive” signs for the future of Christchurch’s quake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, officials claim. 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 Read more
The Christchurch diocese is calling on international expertise to make sure the restoration of its earthquake damaged cathedral, if possible, is consistent with Catholic traditions. American architect James McCrery arrived from Washington DC this week and saw the cathedral for the first time on Tuesday. In an article in the NationaL Catholic Register McCrery is Read more
CERA has given its approval under Section 38 to take down parts of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch New Zealand. 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 Read more
Plans to retain and restore parts of the Catholic cathedral could be jeopardised by approval delays, Christchurch diocese leaders claim. In June, the diocese applied to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) for a section 38 notice. They had expected a decision in weeks but are still waiting approval. A section 38 notice would give Read more
Comparisons between the progress made at Barbadoes St and in Cathedral Square are unhelpful, but perhaps inevitable, says an editorial in the Christchurch newspaper, The Press. 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 Read more