St Mary's Old Convent Chapel is a category 1 historic building in Ponsonby, built in 1865–1866.

History

St Mary's Old Convent Chapel was built for the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

in 1865–1866 on land purchased by Bishop Jean-Baptiste Pompallier in 1853. It was officially opened on 5 August 1866. Bishop Pompallier held Mass twice a week, until his departure from New Zealand in 1868. The chapel was central to the convent life and also to the students of St Mary's College, which was constructed in 1864 on the site. The building also served as the parish church for Ponsonby from 1870 to 1886. It is the only 1860s building still standing on the site that was then known as St Mary's Mount.

Description

The chapel was designed by architect Edward Mahoney in a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, similar to the convent accommodation that had been built several years prior, and the Bishop's House that would be later built across the road from the chapel.Peter Shaw. 'Mahoney, Edward and Mahoney, Thomas', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2m26/mahoney-edward (accessed 21 October 2024) It cost £1100 to build. The wooden chapel is

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

with a steeply pitched roof and a central spire. The interior was laid out according to the needs of the religious order, rather than as a parish church, resulting in two rows of stalls made of

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

timber on both sides of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

facing towards each other, across the central aisle. Above the stalls are the

stations of the cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

. Above the altar on the east wall, are stained glass windows, the centrepiece depicting Our Lady of Mercy was given by James Franklin in memory of his sister, Sister Mary Xavier. Very few changes have been made to the chapel, except for the addition of further stalls, to accommodate more people.

Gallery

File:NZ AK St Mary's Old Convent Chapel (1).jpg, A view of St Mary's Old Convent Chapel from the north-west, near St Mary's College Hall. File:NZ AK St Mary's Old Convent Chapel (3).jpg, A view of St Mary's Old Convent Chapel from the South-West. File:NZ AK St Mary's Old Convent Chapel (4).jpg, Front entrance of St Mary's Old Convent Chapel.

References

{{Reflist Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Auckland Region Gothic Revival architecture in New Zealand Chapels in New Zealand Buildings and structures of the Catholic Church in New Zealand