New Parishioners

We welcome all new parishioners to St Mary of the Angels!

Alternatively, you can fill out the PDF version of the New Parishioner Form and give it to the office via email or drop-off. You can also place the form in the donations box at the back of the church.

Society of Mary

Jean-Claude Colin founded the Society of Mary, a Catholic Religious congregation, in Lyon, France.

Members of the Society of Mary are often known as Marists. They model their lives on the person of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Mary’s life was marked by spontaneity and joy, and lived out, actively involved in the broader community. In this light, a particular focus of Marist work is to rejuvenate existing Church communities and establish the Church where it does not exist.

The first Marists left France in 1836 and arrived in New Zealand at the Hokianga Harbour in January 1838. They were also present at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

For more information please visit the website for the Society of Mary in New Zealand.

History of St Mary of the Angels

The land on which St Mary of the Angels is sited has been continuosly occupied by a Church since 1843.

The first Mass in Wellington

In 1840 the first ships of the New Zealand Company brought settlers from Britain to the Colony of New Zealand. On Christmas Eve of that year Bishop Pompallier, who had earlier in January 1938, arrived at Hokianga in the north of the North Island made his first visit to Wellington and celebrated Mass the following day in a house lent by a local magistrate. The Missionary Bishop appointed Fr Michel Borjon SM as Parish Priest to the group of Catholics organised by Surgeon-Doctor Fitzgerald in the Wellington area, but the young Frenchman was lost at sea on a trip from Auckland in 1842. Intermittent visits by Marist missionaries followed for the next two years but in January 1843 Fr Jeremiah O’Reily OFM arrived in Wellington with and as Chaplain to a Mr Petre and his wife.

First Church Built

On 5 February 1843, Fr O’Reily celebrated Mass in a private house situated along the waterfront about where present Bowen St meets Lambton Quay. About 100 worshippers attended. A meeting was called for the following Sunday to arrange for the construction of a small church. After some months the church was ready, sited practically on the site where St Mary of the Angels now stands. In 1846 a presbytery was build at a spot near the Mount Street cemetery that was further up the hill from the Church. The Church was called “The Chapel of the Nativity of Our Lord” probably to commemorate Bishop Pompallier’s first visit to the new mission, but it became generally known as “Fr O’Reily’s Chapel”.

Second Church

Over the 30 years of the existence of the first Church it was enlarged several times. And finally, in 1873, plans were drawn up for a much larger and more imposing edifice to meet the needs of the growing Parish. Over several days in late February 1874 the “Wellington Independent” newspaper gave a detailed description of the new “Te Aro Catholic Chapel” and the blessing of this new Church, called then for the first time after the famous shrine of the Franciscan world in Assisi “St Mary of the Angels”.

The Church, built to seat 450 cost £1500. The original plan allowed for additions, and these were carried out by Fr Devoy SM in 1892 increasing the accommodation to about 550 as well as improving the architectural beauty of the building. About this time a presbytery was built on adjacent land to the Church in Boulcott Street.

The Coming of the Marist Fathers (The Society of Mary)

In 1850 Bishop Viard SM arrived at Port Nicholson (Wellington) accompanied by five Marist priests and 10 lay brothers. They established their headquarters in Thorndon and a further mission station was opened in the Hutt Valley. In later years Fr Kearney SM was appointed to assist Fr O’Reily at St Mary of the Angels and on the return of Fr Kearney to Ireland, Fr Kerrigan was appointed the first Marist Parish Priest. In December 1883 the then Bishop Redwood granted the Parish of Te Aro (St Mary of the Angels) in perpetuity to the Society of Mary and his decision was ratified by a decree from the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, dated 19 January 1885. Father Kerrigan SM later arranged for the construction of the church of St Joseph in Buckle Street and was also treasurer of the Committee responsible for the building of St Patrick’s College on its original site on the corner of Tory and Buckle Streets.

The successor to Fr Kerrigan SM was Fr Devoy SM. As well as enlarging St Mary of the Angels Church in 1892 he also built a convent school in Newtown which opened in 1893. In the period 1889-1892 Fr Devoy also spearheaded a drive for funds for an organ that was obtained from Leeds, England. It was blessed immediately after installation in St Mary of the Angels in August 1892 and did duty for over 60 years. In 1900 Archdeacon Devoy was succeeded by Dean O’Shea SM who transferred administration to Buckle Street, leaving Fathers Kimball and Goggan SM taking care of parochial life at St Mary of the Angels. In 1913 St Joseph’s became a separate Parish and Fr Regnault SM became Parish Priest at Boulcott Street. When the Te Aro area was divided between St Mary of the Angels and St Joseph’s the Deed of Perpetuity was altered for the Parish of Wellington North with headquarters in Hill Street. Later a further exchange centred the Society of Mary’s interest in Boucott Street.

The 1874 Church Destroyed by Fire

The large timber church went the way of so many of Wellington's 19th century timber buildings and was destroyed by fire on 28 May 1918. Total insurance was £2525. On the Sunday following the fire, that occurred during the second year of Father Stanislaus Mahony as Parish Priest a meeting was called to discuss rebuilding and immediately over £4000 was given or promised. By October a further £4000 had been raised and in April 1919 the contract was let for £27,500 for the new Church – which is the Church that still stands on the site today.

Construction of the Present Church

The destruction of the 1874 church building presented the church authorities with an opportunity to build in permanent materials. Clere and Williams, architects, secured the contract to design what was arguably the second most important Catholic church in Wellington, behind the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Hill Street.

Frederick de Jersey Clere, designer of the church, was by now the pre-eminent architect in Wellington. He was not a Catholic but he benefited from the church’s desire to hire who they regarded as the best architect for the job, despite somewhat partisan times. The selection of Clere and Williams was not without its controversy however. Catholic architects John and Francis Swan of Swan and Swan protested strongly at parish priest Fr Stan Mahony’s decision.

They had received a considerable amount of work from the Wellington archdiocese in the past and had even supervised the dismantling of the tower of the previous church after the fire. The aggrieved architects even took Fr Mahony to court in an effort to overturn the decision but it would appear little came of their action.

Clere was by now well versed in the use of reinforced concrete-he had designed five such buildings up to 1917 — although he had obviously not seen the long term efficacy of this new building material. Clere was never satisfied that stone could ever resist horizontal movement in an earthquake. He decided on concrete for St. Mary of the Angels but designed in traditional Gothic, by this time a late example of the genre. It is not certain whether it was the architect or the church which held sway in this decision but Clere still favoured Gothic for ecclesiastical designs, as evidenced in his 1917 design-never built-for an Anglican Cathedral in Wellington.

The contract for building the church was for 27,500 pounds by the original contractor H. E. Manning. In a letter to the Bishop of Christchurch Manning considered the church would be one of the “best buildings ever built in New Zealand”. However, by 1920 Manning had abandoned his contract, apparently bankrupt. Matters were not helped by a shortage of materials following World War I. He left the remainder of the construction, remarkably, in the hands of Fr Mahony, aided by a close friend Martin Moloney, and a group of, largely, unskilled labourers. Money was very tight. For a time workers had to wait until after the Sunday collections to be paid for the previous week’s work.

That the building was completed largely by a parish priest and a group of day labourers was due in great part to Clere’s use of concrete and the extraordinary will and practicality of Fr Mahony who was a regular sight on the scaffolding. The bulk of the building was poured concrete, reinforced with steel, and this required “no specialist skills”, even the brick walls, although solid, were a veneer and served no structural purpose. In fact the brick walls were originally supposed to be the mould for the poured concrete and to then be discarded, but a scarcity of bricks at the time put an end to that idea. Likewise, the stained glass windows in the clerestory were fitted directly into pre-cast concrete fillets. There was “no need for traditional grooves carved into stone”.

The use of reinforcement in the concrete appears to have been a bit haphazard. Evidence revealed by concrete decay suggests that it was not always laid vertically or a consistent fashion but, in general, it has served the purpose it was employed for. The use of concrete required relatively slender structural members and therefore allowed a greater area of glass to be carried in the walls than would have been possible with a brick or stone structure. Stained glass windows, such a prominent feature of the church, were ordered from F. X. Zetler of Munich. Zetler’s windows are found exclusively in Catholic churches including others in New Zealand.

After four years of planning and construction the church was blessed and opened by Archbishop Redwood on Sunday, March 26, 1922. The church was by no means complete, particularly the exterior, but was sufficiently advanced to allow the opening to proceed. A large crowd was in attendance; 600 people paid ten shillings for admittance to the church and gave another 1800 pounds on the day. The church’s debt stood at 7500 pounds at the opening, while the entire project had cost over 35,000 pounds up to that point.

Among the work not finished was the installation of the stained glass windows. Some had not arrived from the manufacturers, others would not be made until funds permitted. On the day of the opening the windows in place were the Crucifiction, over the High Altar, the window over the entrance and the altar windows of Our Lady’s Chapel, the side wall windows featuring the 15 mysteries of the rosary, and the altar windows of St Joseph’s Chapel. The missing glass was replaced by tinted Cathedral glass. Over time the remaining windows, including the prominent clerestory windows and rose window were installed. 11 years after the building was opened, its builder, Fr Stanislaus Mahony died at the age of 67.

The new church continued the role of the inner-city ministry and quickly became a landmark in Wellington. Its significance to the Catholic Church was further enhanced when Fr Thomas O’Shea was appointed coadjutor Archbishop to Archbishop Redwood. Redwood was by then old and frail and died the following year. Archbishop O’ Shea, although he resided within St. Joseph’s parish at Paterson Street, established his seat at St Mary of the Angels and the church became a pro-Cathedral. The seat of the Archbishop was the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Hill Street, but it only returned to the role formally in 1954 when Archbishop O’ Shea died and was replaced by Archbishop McKeefry. McKeefry was himself made coadjutor in 1948. The Basilica was formally consecrated a Cathedral in 1985. Bishops have returned to celebrate at St. Mary of the Angels from time to time and on each occasion has assumed the title of pro-Cathedral.

St Mary of the Angels has been the scene of many important events. Among them are the funeral of Mother Mary Aubert in 1926, the investing of Archbishop O’ Shea as Metropolitan in 1935, the Eucharistic Congress in 1940, the diamond jubilee of St Patrick’s College, Wellington, in 1945, the requiem mass for Archbishop O’ Shea in 1954 and then Archbishop McKeefrey’s investiture. Later when Pope John Paul II, then still a Polish Cardinal, visited Wellington in 1973 he was welcomed at St Mary of the Angels. The church has hosted dignitaries, commemorative masses and, of course, tens of thousands of daily masses over the years. It remains well known for its choir which has always been a significant attraction in its own right and the magnificent organ, which is one of only two of their type in New Zealand.

The relatively small number of active parishioners now living within the boundaries of the parish have been complimented by the great number of regular worshippers from all over the greater Wellington area as well as visitors from around New Zealand and overseas. The affections Wellingtonians have for St Mary of the Angels was amply demonstrated when the church launched an appeal in 1985 to fund the first stages of restoration of the church. The exterior of the church was restored at that time and a new roof added. In the early 1990’s the interior of the church was restored. In excess of $1.5 million was raised from various sources to complete this work.

During the first decade of the new millennium the exterior walls of the church were sealed to protect the integrity of the stained glass windows and a major restoration was completed on the church organ, one of only two of its type in New Zealand. As well, the gardens and lawns in front of the church were developed in conjunction with the Wellington City Council Parks and Reserves department to provide a peaceful green space for Wellingtonians in the heart of the CBD. These latest projects costs collectively were in excess of $750,000 with the Trust being one of the principal fund raisers.

Building Maintenace

The Church has an ongoing building maintenance account which funds the everyday care and maintenance of the Church.

This account ensures that minor repairs, maintenance and cleaning of the church, parish hall and offices, gardening services and remedial work to grounds are carried out in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Church Building Award

A neo-Gothic church with a history as intriguing as its architecture and appearance has won the Enduring Concrete Award 2010.

Wellington’s St Mary of the Angels, believed to be the world’s first neo-Gothic church built using reinforced concrete, was presented with the award at the NZ Concrete Society’s annual conference in Wellington. Bestowed biennially by the NZCS, the award recognises excellence in the use of concrete in building and civil engineering structures more than 25 years old.

Paper prepared by Morten Gjerde
School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington; Morten.Gjerde@vuw.ac.nz

Introduction

For reasons that will be abundantly clear to most of us, concrete is sometimes referred to as liquid stone. It is a contemporary building material that can be easily shaped yet is as durable as stone, one of the most ancient of building materials. It is then not too surprising that an architectural form synonymous with stone, the Gothic church, would at some point come to be reconstituted using its ‘liquid’ counterpart. Completed in 1922, Wellington’s St Mary of the Angels is believed to be the world’s first neo-Gothic church built using reinforced concrete construction (McGill 1997). Not only is the church of significant architectural merit, ratified in part by the Category I classification bestowed by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust [NZHPT], but it stands today as a testament to the commitment of its owner to maintain and enhance its place in this city’s history. It is for these reasons that the jury has selected St Mary of the Angels Church to receive the Enduring Concrete Award for 2010. The paper will now proceed to outline some of the important features of this building and the process by which it came to be.

Project background and design

St Mary of the Angels is the parish church for Wellington Central. Based originally in a small house on Wellington’s waterfront, the parish was led to build its first church on the current site in Boulcott Street [opposite the current Majestic Centre] by Father Jeremiah O’Reilly. This original church, enlarged several times, served the parishioners for some 30 years. In 1873, it was decided to build a larger structure to cope with the rapidly expanding population.

The new church was opened as the first St Mary of the Angels, a name taken from the mother church of the Franciscan order in Assisi, Italy. The timber building cost £1,500 to build and could seat 450 worshippers. In 1918, after only 45 years of service, the church was destroyed by fire. The following Sunday, Father Stanislaus Mahony called a meeting to discuss rebuilding and it was soon decided to engage the services of architect Frederick de Jersey Clere, who at the time was the Anglican diocesan architect.

The design is in the style of the French Gothic (Kernohan 1994), strongly perpendicular, and the principal east elevation can be seen to have been modelled closely on the old collegiate church of Saints-Michel-et-Gudule in Brussels. The Evening Post (1919) wrote that “it was decided by the authorities that Gothic should be the style, but it was left to the architects to choose the phase”, suggesting that the overall direction of the design was not Clere’s. However, Thornton (1996) and Maclean (2002) both point out that he had earlier prepared a design for the Anglican Cathedral following a similar idiom.

The siting of the church is somewhat unfortunate, particularly in relation to the development that has come to surround the site today. The site was never going to be easy, sitting on a moderately rising east facing slope above Willis Street. Unlike the cathedral that serves as its precedent, which opens to a generous public space, entry to St Mary of the Angels is located tightly against Boulcott Street, a condition made worse by the difference in levels. Clere’s solution is ingenious, forming a modest porch at the level of the nave, which can be accessed from the street along a generous staircase located asymmetrically in plan.

The design adopts a reinforced concrete structural frame with the bays infilled with a pale, sandy coloured brick. The concrete is shaped intricately, enabling particularly delicate proportions over what could have been achieved using the traditional stone materials aligned with the Gothic language (McCarthy, Howes et al. 2004). Although McGill (1997) claims that respect for fire had caused Clere to break out of his timber mould, other sources are not as certain about this, at least in respect of his design for St Mary of the Angels. Indeed, Clere had already begun to use concrete in his work, with the design for St Mary’s in Karori based on concrete in 1911. Clere and his business partner Llewellyn Williams were both members of the Concrete Institute of London and by the time he came to design St Mary of the Angels, Clere had designed five churches in reinforced concrete.

Following the fire, his preference for the material may have influenced the parish in their selection of architect and undoubtedly this has provided them with confidence in respect of the robustness of their investment.

St Mary of the Angels is the most impressive of Clere’s churches and the most cathedral-like, perhaps in part helping him overcome disappointment that came with his failure a year earlier to secure the commission to design the new Anglican cathedral in Wellington (Maclean 2002). Clere’s design adopts a plan that is modified from the conventional Gothic church layout, in that it lacks transepts. However, other features of the Gothic have found their way into the design such as the side chapels and the two magnificent towers flanking the entry. In words that are reminiscent of Modern design philosophy of form following function, Clere claimed that the size of the concrete window mullions practically governed the design of St Mary of the Angels (Maclean 2002).

By this he meant that the slender mullions able to be formed using concrete gave him an opportunity to incorporate the three-light windows at the clerestory level instead of the two frames associated with stone construction in the same location. The result is a splendid, light filled arcade running the length of the nave.

However, it was in the details of the structural elements that Clere was able to bring the Gothic proportions into the 20th Century. After toying initially with traditional timber framing methods for the roof he eventually came to see the primary structure as the gracefully curving concrete beams we see today. The visual weight of the structure is stripped back with the aid of king post and collar tie, effectively marrying Medieval and contemporary architecture in this one element as well as more generally throughout the building. The form and space of the church have come to be highly revered in architectural terms, and the design is also acknowledged to be a wonderful place to worship.

The architect

Trained as an architect in the United Kingdom, Frederick de Jersey Clere arrived in Wellington with his family at the age of 21 and it is here he became well known as a builder of churches. During his career he designed and built more than a hundred buildings associated with faith and worship in the period 1881 to 1933 with most of these located in the lower half of the North Island. Notable religious buildings in the Wellington region credited to Clere include St Mary’s Church in Karori, also built in concrete, and St Gerard’s Monastery. St Gerard’s is the iconic centrepiece of the scene that is often used to express Wellington’s identity, comprising of the church by John Sydney Swan and Clere’s later monastery, both perching precariously on the escarpment above Oriental Bay. Another ten church designs were never built for one reason or another. An indication of the high regard held for Clere’s ability is the fact that the Wellington Catholic parish was able to set aside assumed parochial biases to engage the services of the Anglican’s diocesan architect.

Other buildings in Wellington that are credited to Frederick de Jersey Clere include the offices of the Wellington Harbour Board, now home to the Academy of Fine Arts, and the Bond Store, currently the Museum of Wellington City and Sea. These two handsome buildings form the portal to the waterfront at Queen’s Wharf. Clere had a long and productive life as an architect and did not fully retire from practice until he was 92, by which time he was near enough to blind. He lived another four years and will be remembered as the consummate professional, an architect of unquestioned integrity in his dealings with builders, clients and materials (Maclean 2002).

Construction

The construction process that brought the church to be on this site is stuff legends are made of. Moving quickly after the fire, a rebuilding committee coordinated efforts to raise the money required for rebuilding beyond the £2,525 insurance payout on the timber church. A single bazaar managed to raise a little over £4,000, an astonishing amount when compared to the total required to build the new church. Designs were prepared by the architects and Clere called for tenders in March of 1919, less than a year after the fire. Then in April of 1919, Father Mahony instructed Clere to let a contract to H. E. Manning (St Mary of the Angels Parish date unknown) in the amount of £27,500.

The foundations took some time to complete but a more significant impediment to progress on site was the general difficulty of obtaining building materials, as the start of construction coincided with the end of the First World War. Even so, there was optimism about the time it would take to build the church once the project had come out of the ground. In November of 1919 it was reported that the building would be substantially complete in twelve months time. A key material on this site was of course Portland cement for the concrete and mortar. The Evening Post (1922), reporting in great detail about the construction process, explaining that much of the cement had to be imported, some from as far away as Canada and Belgium! In addition to uncertainty of supply, the price the contractor had to pay bordered on being extortionate. Church records (date unknown) indicate the price paid for cement was three times its actual value at the time. For reasons not entirely clear, perhaps most closely related to the frustration of delays caused by material shortages, the contractor walked off the job less than a year after starting.

The task of completing the project then fell to Father Stanislaus Mahony who, aided by Martin Moloney, rose ably to the task. In addition to running the parish he immersed himself in project, working closely with the architect and often seen scrambling around on the scaffolding to instruct the foremen he employed. He engaged labourers for the work on day rates and not many of them were particularly skilled. Again, the predominant use of concrete in this project could be seen to enable the construction to proceed in this manner. Had the church been designed to be constructed in stone, trained masons would have been required (McGill 1997) and no doubt they would have commanded considerably higher wages. McGill also states that “the rendering of the rich ornamentation with concrete moulds was an innovation prompted by lack of money…” (McGill 1997,p138), further helping to ensure the costs of the project could be closely controlled. Nevertheless, funds often ran short and Fr Mahony could often be found making the rounds of the construction site on Fridays asking the workmen to wait until the following Monday for their wages to be paid out (date unknown) . The Catholic community, as Fr Mahony had put it, “had availed themselves of the privilege of paying for the new church”(Evening Post 11 March 1922) in large part through their donations at mass on Sundays, week in and week out.

When it was consecrated in March of 1922, “Clere,[Mahony] and unskilled concrete pourers had created a stunning Gothic presence Down Under” (McGill 1997, p139). The financial position of the church in respect of this project was widely reported, in a manner that seems unusual today. According to the Evening Post (27 March 1922) the final cost for the buildings stood at something in the region of £31,165 and £25,884 had been collected toward this amount. Although loans were raised for the remaining cost of the project, including furnishings, Fr Mahony quickly set about to drive the debt down. Indeed the commitment to the project by the community as a whole is evidenced by offerings approaching £2,000 that were received at the time St Mary of the Angels was opened.

Subsequent work

Problems arising through the construction have become apparent with the passage of time. For reasons not stated in the literature, moulds were often not completed in a single pour and the cold construction joints were found to reduce the structural strength of the concrete. Over a relatively short period and aggravated by several earthquakes, structural deficiencies became apparent (Maclean 2002). Three separate programmes of repair and restoration have so far taken place.

In the 1950s a programme of repairs designed to halt further deterioration was undertaken, including removal of the decorative finials on top of the side wall buttresses (Fearnley 1977). It was not until a comprehensive project undertaken in the 1980s was completed that the building was brought up to the prevailing Wellington City Council standards. Also during this project it was discovered that the original stormwater discharge system had been unable to cope with the volumes of water collected by the roof. To the disappointment of many, the original Welsh slate roof was replaced by a copper roof, which “altered unnecessarily the colour, texture and pattern of the roof.” (Kernohan 1994) However, it is also thought that the slate roof remains in place under the copper and that it can resurface at some point in the future to restore that part of the building to its original design (Gjerde and Gray 2010). Also at that time work was undertaken to direct seismic loads in the roof out to the stronger elements at each end. The two towers were strengthened and electrical wiring replaced. Apparently the wiring was so dangerous that the heaters had not been used for the three years leading up to the project (Maclean 2002). Other, perhaps more contentious changes were initiated to the interior layout to better accommodate changes in the Catholic liturgy that informed the original planning layout.

Another project of restoration and repair was completed in 1996, including epoxy injection of the rogue cold joints in the concrete to help control water ingress and improve strength. In 2002, Maclean (, p101) stated that “St Mary’s is in better condition now than ever.” However, such statements must be also taken with a grain of salt in respect of buildings located in earthquake prone regions. Understanding of the severity of these natural forces and how best to limit damage to the built environment is constantly improving. In response, expectations for life safety and protection of important infrastructure also advance, leading on to changes in the prevailing performance standards. The church is now faced with another significant project to further improve seismic performance and hopefully secure the ongoing use and enjoyment of St Mary of the Angels. The current parish priest, Father Barry Scannell, has explained that one of several ideas they are considering is to base isolate the building (Gjerde and Gray 2010). Planning for this and alternate schemes has now been advanced to the point where costs can be estimated and these are now known to be significant. Fundraising is again under way. It would seem that fundraising, first associated with the initial building works, is now deeply embedded in the culture of the parish. It can only be hoped that funds can be secured to enable another round of structural improvements that will see the useful life of this church building, which contributes so positively to our culture and history, further extended.

Conclusion

In contemporary Wellington, the location of St Mary of the Angels has perhaps limited the extent to which the general public has come to appreciate its fine qualities. Indeed, each of the three judges was unfamiliar with the interior of the church despite having walked past and admired it from Boulcott Street for many years. However, at the time it was built, the church enjoyed significant notoriety, not only because of its evocative design but also because of the hands on approach taken by the parish priest, Father Stanislaus Mahony.

The building is deserving of wider recognition and it is of particular significance for the concrete industry. The choice of the concrete for the primary structure, expressed in the Gothic format, has strongly influenced the design outcome. It would be inconceivable that any other material would have led to such fine proportions, spatially and in the structural elements themselves. Not only does the final result stand as a testament to concrete as a building material, the use of concrete also had significant impact on the ability of the parish to complete the task to a reasonable cost despite the high cost of Portland cement at the time. According to Wayne Nelson (cited Shaw 2003, p 110) the church is a “tour de force in the art and craft of the machine….particularly as Clere’s design was executed not by trained stone masons but by day labourers with no more skill than the ability to handle a concrete mixer and a mould”.

The synergy between the principal building materials, architectural design and process of execution in this project led to a building of great significance and innovation. It has stood the test of time, albeit with the continual input of a committed property owner, who continues to look toward the future. For these reasons it is appropriate that the New Zealand Concrete Society bestows St Mary of the Angels in Wellington with its Enduring Concrete Award for 2010.

Bibliography

• Anon. (1919). A new catholic church, St Mary of the Angels. Evening Post. Wellington: 6.
• Anon. (1922). Memorable event, opening of St Mary’s church. Evening Post. Wellington: p 10.
• Anon. (1922). St Mary’s: the first parish from 1842 to 1922 an historic site. Evening Post. Wellington: 6.
• Anon. (date unknown). St Mary’s destroyed by fire 28th May 1918. Wellington, St Mary of the Angels Parish.
• Fearnley, C. (1977). Early Wellington churches. Wellington, NZ, Millwood Press.
• Gjerde, M. and A. Gray (2010). Interview with Fr Barry Scannell. Wellington NZ.
• Kernohan, D. (1994). Wellington’s old buildings. Wellington, Victoria University Press.
• Maclean, S. (2002). Architect of the angels: the church architecture of Frederick de Jersey Clere.Wellington, N.Z., Steele Roberts.
• McCarthy, C., X. Howes, et al. (2004). Wellington Architecture Week 2004. W. A. W. Committee. Wellington, Wellington Architecture Week Committee.
• McGill, D. (1997). Landmarks: notable historic buildings of New Zealand. Auckland, Godwit.
• Shaw, P. (2003). A history of New Zealand architecture. Auckland NZ, Hodder Moa Beckett.
• St Mary of the Angels Parish (date unknown). Marist Archive HD11 Wellington, St Mary of the Angels Parish: 29-31
• Thornton, G. (1996). Cast in Concrete. Auckland, Reed Books

Annual Financial Report

In the pursuit of accountability and transparency the Parish Finance Committee discloses financial information to parishioners.

While this report is mainly directed to reporting where the money comes from and where it goes, this message serves another important need: the need to recognise at least some of the activities, which giving and other sources of income support.

2023	Annual Audited Accounts
2022	Annual Audited Accounts
2021	Annual Audited Accounts
2020	Annual Audited Accounts
2019	Annual Audited Accounts
2018	Annual Audited Accounts
2018	Financial Report 2017-2018
2017	Annual Audited Accounts
2016	Annual Audited Accounts
2015	Financial Report 2014-2015
2015	Annual Audited Accounts
2014	Annual Audited Accounts
2013	Annual Financial Report
2012	Annual Financial Report

Review of the Current Status and Operation of the Parish of St Mary of the Angels and its Ongoing Resilience

2019	Parish Review