St Gerard's Church And Monastery
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St Gerard's Church and Monastery collectively form one of Wellington's most distinctive and iconic landmarks. Located on Mount Victoria in
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, both buildings are classified as Category 1 Historic Places (''places of "special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value"'') by the
New Zealand Historic Places Trust Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage bui ...
. They are built on the site of a sixteen-roomed house (called ''Fitzgerald's Folly'') and property owned by James Edward Fitzgerald who some claim to be New Zealand's first
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
. In April 2021, the owners of the buildings, the International Catholic Programme of Evangelisation (ICPE), announced that the church would close at the end of the following month due to safety concerns. The buildings were sold to on 27 March 2023. The purchaser was a recently formed company, St Gerard's Limited.


The Church

The church was built in 1908, to the design of John Swan, for the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as
Redemptorists The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala ...
, a
religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...
of
priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...
and
brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...
. The church was the first in the world to be dedicated to the Italian member of their order and saint,
Gerard Majella Gerard Majella (; 6 April 1726 – 16 October 1755) was an Italian lay brother of the Congregation of the Redeemer, better known as the Redemptorists, who is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church. His intercession is for children, unbor ...
, after his canonisation. It is constructed to a simple gothic design built of brick, accommodating about 200 people. The church is noted for its assemblage of fine stained glass windows produced by Hardman and Son of Birmingham, "rated by the company the best they had ever exported." Swan designed the fine marble altar made of green Devonshire marble with supporting columns of green Galway marble, and throne and white steps of white
Carrara marble Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara ...
. A panel of Italian mosaics depicting the
Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...
adorns the altar front.


St Gerard

As the first church in the world dedicated to
Gerard Majella Gerard Majella (; 6 April 1726 – 16 October 1755) was an Italian lay brother of the Congregation of the Redeemer, better known as the Redemptorists, who is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church. His intercession is for children, unbor ...
, the church was the location for an oil painting of St Gerard in Ecstasy which was given by
Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
to the Wellington church in recognition of that status. The work was painted in Rome by Giovanni Gagliardi for the saint's
beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...
in 1893. In 1904, for the canonisation, the painting was carried through Rome in procession and hung in St Peter's.


The Monastery

Completed in 1932, funded by public donations, the three storied Monastery was constructed as a home for the Redemptorists. The foundation stone was laid by Archbishop Redwood and it was blessed and opened on 10 April 1932 by Archbishop O'Shea (who was
coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...
at that time).
Frederick de Jersey Clere Frederick de Jersey Clere (7 January 1856 – 13 August 1952) was an architect in Wellington, New Zealand. Biography He was born in Walsden, near Todmorden, Lancashire and trained as an architect before emigrating to New Zealand with his famil ...
is usually regarded as the architect for the monastery in succession to, or in collaboration with his architectural practice partner, John Swan. The structure is of reinforced concrete with brick in-fill panels, Gothic windows and red-brick arches for the cloisters which are situated to benefit from the northern sun. The prominent and dominant position of the monastery has been preserved by the Wellington City Council acquiring property between the monastery and the cliff over
Oriental Bay Oriental Bay is a bay and suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Known for being both a popular beach and an opulent centre of affluence in the city, it is located close to the Central Business District, central business distri ...
to prevent the buildings being obscured from view from almost any vantage point around
Wellington Harbour Wellington Harbour ( ), officially called Wellington Harbour / Port Nicholson, is a large natural harbour on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The harbour entrance is from Cook Strait. Central Wellington is located on parts of ...
.


The Redemptorists

The Redemptorists first arrived in Wellington in 1882 and were based in the Fitzgerald house from 1908 until its replacement by the monastery building in 1932. For 56 years from 1932 to 1988, St Gerard's Monastery was the centre of their mission in New Zealand. This consisted of the preaching of parish retreats and missions all around the country and they presented devotional activities at St Gerard's itself such as frequent and regular
novena A novena (from , "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, when the ...
s,
rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...
and other devotions. The Redemptorists also had the
Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...
Confraternity A confraternity (; ) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most common among Catholics, Lu ...
for men and the Confraternity of
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Our Mother of Perpetual Succour (), colloquially known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 15th-century Byzantine art, Byzantine ico ...
for women. "A well-patronised service was an undertaking always to have a priest available for anonymous confession or spiritual consultation at the press of a special doorbell." The monastery had an outstanding choir which was heard on radio in a series of services beginning in October 1927. Gradually the sermon took precedence over the music and this attracted more listeners, many of them non-Catholics. In 1988, after an 80-year occupation, because of the costs associated with the buildings and their own declining numbers, the Redemptorists decided to sell the buildings and remove the St Gerard painting.


Institute for World Evangelisation

The complex was acquired in 1992 by the Institute for World Evangelisation - ICPE Mission (International Catholic Programme of Evangelisation) a Catholic association of the faithful - for use as a retreat and training centre for Catholic evangelist missionaries, to be operated by a resident community. The church's public worship role continued with a Mass celebrated by the institute's priests every Sunday at 10.30am.ICPE Mission New Zealand
(retrieved 11 April 2018)
The community was founded in
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
in 1985, and gained
Pontifical Right In Catholicism, "of pontifical right" is the term given to ecclesiastical institutions (religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See, or approved by it with the formal decree known by the Latin na ...
in 2002. St Gerard's was used by the group as "a base to spread the Gospel through its charisms of worship and evangelisation". Eighteen "Schools of Mission" were held, with groups of young people from many countries engaging in a five-month, fully residential faith formation programme that ended with a month of "missionary outreach". The ICPE missionaries also conducted missions in parishes throughout New Zealand. They presented programmes in schools and also engaged in social service activities such as serving the homeless in Wellington by working in the Compassion soup kitchen. They worked with prisoners and also work with youth groups and local prayer groups.Uncertain Future for Landmark Church, "ICPE Mission rethinks its future", ''Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington''
(Retrieved 20 April 2023)
In 2020 and 2021 ICPE was unable to run its missionary school due to restrictions on international travel following the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. At the same time, ICPE was struggling to secure sufficient funds to strengthen the earthquake-prone buildings. The church had to be closed and the last public Mass (113 years after the opening of the church) was celebrated on 23 May 2021. After 30 years of occupation, the ICPE Mission decided to sell the buildings when they struggled to raise the $11 to $13 million needed to pay for strengthening. The complex was sold on 27 March 2023. Pending its departure from St Gerard's, the Institute for World Evangelisation-ICPE Mission entered a " period of discernment to re-think its long-term presence in Wellington". About 20 community members had, over the years, settled in Wellington. These members decided to continue the ICPE presence by becoming a "Community of Companions" and to live out their charism of worship and evangelisation through their participation in parish ministries and preserving their community ethos by "meeting monthly in each other's homes". The ICPE donated the Altar from the main church to the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. The Catholic Archbishop of Wellington Paul Martin SM said he was excited that such "a cherished part of St Gerard’s history and of the Catholic history of Wellington" would be preserved in the cathedral. A large statue of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...
was also given to the cathedral. The ICPE community also donated items such as furniture to community organisations "which could make good use of them, including, Kahungungu Whānau Services, St Vincent de Paul, Catholic Social Services and the Salvation Army"."St Gerard’s Monastery altar moving to Wellington’s Sacred Heart Cathedral", ''Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington''
(Retrieved 11 July 2023)


St Gerard's Limited

The complex was acquired on 27 March 2023 for just under $NZ5 million by St Gerard's Limited, with its shares held by a professional trustee company from Mahony Horner Lawyers. The director of the St Gerard's Limited was Sean David Kelly. The latest estimated cost of earthquake strengthening work had been stated by the previous owner to be $NZ20 million.


See also

* Redemptorists of Australia and New Zealand *
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington (''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Vellingtonensis'') is the Metropolitan diocese, metropolitan archdiocese of New Zealand. Catholics number about 83,214 (2006 census). Parishes number 22 and the archdioc ...
*
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and of Saint Mary His Mother, better known as Sacred Heart Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral church on Hill Street, Wellington, New Zealand. It is the parish church of the Thorndon, New Zeala ...
* St Joseph's Church, Mt Victoria *
St Mary of the Angels, Wellington St Mary of the Angels is a Catholic church on the corner of Boulcott Street and O'Reily Avenue in Wellington, New Zealand. It is the parish church for Wellington Central, Wellington, Wellington Central and one of the major churches of the city. ...
*
Catholic Church in New Zealand The Catholic Church in New Zealand () is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope in Rome, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the List of Catholic bishops in New Zealand, New Zealand bishops. Catholicism was ...


Notes


References

* * (photographs by Grant Sheehan) *


External links


IPCE Mission in New Zealand

Wellington City Council, St Gerard's Church and Monastery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Gerard's Church and Monastery Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Wellington Region Roman Catholic churches in Wellington City 1900s churches in New Zealand 1930s architecture in New Zealand Redemptorist churches Frederick de Jersey Clere church buildings 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in New Zealand Gothic Revival church buildings in New Zealand