Renewing his appeal for Turkey and Syria earthquake victims, Francis also turned his attention to New Zealand.

"I am close to the people of New Zealand, who have been hit in recent days by a devastating cyclone.

"Brothers and sisters, let us not forget those who suffer and let our charity be attentive, let it be a concrete charity!"

He made the comments during his Angelus message at the Vatican on Sunday.

Francis' proximity to the people of New Zealand was followed up in a news story in Vatican News.

Grateful to hear of Pope Francis' closeness, the Catholic parish of Napier Parish Priest, Fr Barry Scannell SM acknowledges the devastation and serious impact on the lives of many.

Scannell told CathNews that understandably while numbers at Sunday Mass were down this week, those who were able to attend were very mindful of the loss of life, those missing and the suffering of many.

"Cyclone Gabrielle will put a huge strain on the community and take a long time to recover," he told CathNews.

He said he was grateful for his trusty old transistor radio, but it was not until he could see the pictures and get back into the community to visit people, that Cyclone Gabrielle's devastation became very real.

Scannell said that washed-out bridges and roads in and out of Napier, and initially no electricity, mobile phone or internet communication, isolated people from family and elsewhere in the country and around the world.

He said the isolation proved challenging both for those in Napier and loved ones elsewhere and while most now have phone connectivity, not everyone has such a basic need as electricity.

Scannell says generally everyone is pitching in, everyone is helping each other.

Further up the east coast, Wairoa Parish Priest Rob Devlin SM says senior priest Pa Karaitiana Kingi SM needed help to evacuate his home.

The parish priest says he is being well cared for, but Kingi's home is now ‘red stickered', and his car is full of silt.

Devlin told CathNews that the devastation seriously impacted the low-lying areas of the town; around twenty per cent of the town, including the Tawhiti-a-Mau Marae, which is about a metre deep in water and mud.

St Therese Church at the marae also has significant water damage.

CathNews was unable to speak to anyone from the parish of Hastings.

Cyclone Gabrielle

Head of MetService New Zealand Weather Communications Lisa Murray gave a summary of the storm in a statement on 19 February.

Between 12 and 14 February, parts of New Zealand recorded rainfall amounts of 300-400mm, wind gusts of 130-140km/h and waves as high as 11 metres along some coasts.

"Gabrielle is one of the worst storms to hit Aotearoa New Zealand in living history" said Murray.

The death toll from Cyclone Gabrielle has risen to 11 but police have indicated the toll accounts only for the bodies that have been identified.

More than 6000 people had been reported as non-contactable; however, this contained many double-ups said Eastern District police commander Jeanette Park.

On Monday, the New Zealand Government extended the national state of emergency by 7 days and established a cyclone recovery task force.

The task force's head is Sir Brian Roche and Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson, is the new Cyclone Recovery Minister.

Sources

• Supplied
• Vatican News
• Supplied
• Floodlist
• Stuff

The feature-length documentary is about the seismic strengthening of St Mary of the Angels church in central Wellington.

Parish priest Father Barry Scannell, who features in the film, says it "beautifully captures" the scale and challenges of the $9.5 million rebuild.

"The whole project was a great test of faith - never really knowing if it would all work out ... but the end result is just stunning," he said.

He hopes the documentary will help shed a light on the immense amount of work that went on behind the scenes to get the church to the standard it's at today.

"The finished film has turned out to be a remarkably rich documentary which anyone will enjoy - especially Wellingtonians who know of the church and its special place in the capital's history."

The film started out as just a way to document the church-strengthening project.

However, filmmakers Paul Davidson and Barbara Gibb quickly realised there was more to the story.

Now A Test of Faith tells the whole story of just how much of the church was taken apart and replaced with modern materials and innovative engineering.

"Although it was an exercise in challenging architecture and engineering, I knew that the story amongst all that could make a really rich, people-focused documentary," Davidson says.

"The fascinating thing for me was the intertwining relationships of all those working on the site, from the architects and engineers to the labourers down on the ground."

Proceeds from the gala, which had a price tag of $100.00 per ticket, will help fund completion of unfinished work on the church crypt, choir room and grounds.

Source

• Stuff
• Image: Stuff

The city council's Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Awards acknowledge members of the community who have made outstanding contributions to the Capital and its people.

The picture above shows mayor, Justin Lester, Mr Keith Quinn, who received award on behalf of Scannell, and councillor Nicola Young.

Lester set the scene for presenting the awards.

"The Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Awards are about recognising the people who selflessly give so much to our communities", he said.

Wellington city councillor, Nicola Young introduced Scannell to the other recipients and invited guests.

She described him as a "tireless worker" who is "deeply involved in many areas of Wellington life".

Councillor Young lauded Scannell for making the decision to close the church in the interests of public safety, saying the decision was vindicated by scientific tests showing the church was only 20% of the building code.

Labelling both the fundraising campaign and Scannell's lead role as "ambitious", Young praised the St Mary's parish priest for continuing to lead his congregation throughout the challenging process.

Called out of Wellington for a funeral, Scannell had asked Keith Quinn to represent him.

"In accepting this award I have to say I think this is a classic example of a Wellington friendship which goes across diverse and different interests and beliefs - which can lead to firm friendships," Quinn said in reply to Councillor Young.

"I am not a churchgoer at all (and Barry obviously is!) but our friendship is real - I have always noted his total commitment to his faith and his church - and in particular the hard work he put in to the recent re-build of the Wellington icon which is St Mary's of the Angels".

Source

• sm.org.nz
• Image: smnz.org

The church was reopened and blessed by Cardinal John Dew, the Archbishop of Wellington, last week.

It had been closed for almost 4 years to undergo earthquake strengthening.

At the completion of the $9.5 m project the only visible change is the addition of two sheer walls at the rear of the church.

Large parts of the church have been taken apart and rebuilt.

But special care has been taken to retain its original appearance.

Before the work began the church was assessed to be between 15 and 20% of the current building standards. It is now close to 100% compliant.

"But you'd never know the difference thanks to 3D digital mapping that's helped preserve the 1922 gothic architecture and some creative solutions to replace columns along the 21-metre-high ceiling," said Brian McGuinness.

He is the managing director of LT McGuinness, the construction company that undertook the project.

He was at Mass in St Mary of the Angels when the second Seddon earthquake occurred.

It is understood the cost of the project was put at more than $20m but LT McGuinness gave the church "value for money".

There has been widespread praise for Fr Barry Scannell, the parish priest of St Mary of the Angels.

He made the difficult decision to close the church and he then energetically led the money raising campaign required to fund the restoration.

"No-one else had the determination, vision, courage and cheek to enable this to happen," said Cardinal Dew after he had blessed are re-opened the church.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• tvnz.co.nz
• Image: screenshot video Paul Davidson

Four major construction projects are underway in Boulcott St, which has been labelled several hundred metres of motoring hell, with cars regularly bumper to bumper.

The projects are a revamp of the old Dominion Post building, seismic strengthening of the Majestic Centre and St Mary of the Angels, and the construction of an eight-storey apartment building.

St Mary of the Angels' Fr Barry Scannell, SM, said work on the church was not contributing to the congestion.

But Fr Scannell said the traffic troubles were adding to the price tag for the donation-funded project.

The church paid $800 a week to the Wellington City Council to hire five parking spaces off the road where trucks and work vehicles could park, and unload materials.

It was a "very expensive exercise" for the church as it upgraded a category 1 historic place through fundraising, Fr Scannell said.

Wellington City Council said there is little it can do about the timing of the work.

Council spokeswoman Victoria Barton-Chapple said congestion was "understandably frustrating" due to large and heavy vehicles on the road.

She said this should be only between the times in the traffic management plans for all of the sites, and which staff inspected every day.

"Unfortunately we have no control over the timeframe over the completion of these sites."

Sources

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Stuff.co.nz