Christchurch Bishop Michael Gielen has announced the name of the New Zealand city’s new Catholic cathedral. Source: RNZ.
The new cathedral will be constructed on the site of the original Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, which opened in 1905 but was demolished in 2020 after irreparable damage in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
The replacement will also be called the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament – Te Hāhi Matua o te Hākarameta Tapu Rawa.
Bishop Gielen said people spoke of the pain of losing the previous cathedral after the Christchurch earthquakes, and how retaining the name would provide some comfort for them.
“In recent weeks, people’s voices have been raised in support of this choice. They spoke of a long and treasured history of churches and the cathedral of the same name, in which they and their forebears received the sacraments, professed their love for a spouse and farewelled loved ones,” Bishop Gielen said.
In a letter read at Masses this weekend, Bishop Gielen said the two–month journey to the announcement of the name was designed to help him “better understand the heart of the people”.
“Your heart, expressed through a desire for the name Blessed Sacrament, has won my heart,” he wrote.
“Our path towards a new cathedral will take many years, but this is another important milestone on our way.
“As discussions loom about the design of our cathedral, that work will have the Blessed Sacrament – that source and summit of our faith – at its centre.”
It will be the first new Catholic cathedral in New Zealand in 120 years.
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