But two bronze angels – in round panels set at each end of the altar in the Holy Souls Chapel and dating back to when the cathedral was first opened in 1905 – were found to have gone missing from the site when the altar was removed last month. “Obviously at some point over the 10 years someone thought that they’d pop in and take the bronze angels,” said Doocey.
She intends to publicise the loss on social media: “I’m hoping someone will go ‘So-and-so has those in their room’.”
The decision was made to demolish the heritage-listed Basilica in 2019, with the then bishop Paul Martin citing the multi-million-dollar expense and danger of restoration. Demolition finally got under way in October last year, with an archaeologist on site to support in the retrieval of sacred or surprising objects.
NZ cathedral missing its angels 10 years after quake
The Guardian, AUCKLAND, New Zealand
Ten years after a devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, the Catholic diocese has discovered that it is missing a pair of angels.
As work continues to deconstruct the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street which was extensively damaged in the 2011 quake, along with most of the central city many treasures thought lost have been recovered.
Catholic Diocese of Christchurch archivist Triona Doocey has been documenting the finds on Facebook among them, decades-old time capsules, a charity collection box full of outdated currency, and a nativity scene with the figures’ heads “taken clean off.”
Supplied/Catholic diocese
An archaeologist sifts through the rubble of the partially demolished Catholic Cathedral in Christchurch. “That would be a way of telling the story [of the objects], if the archives can get the money to do that.” One of the carved Stations of the Cross panels by late artist Llew Summers has been vandalised, while another panel was damaged while it was being removed. The other panels have been safely removed from the cathedral and taken to safe storage.
Supplied/Catholic diocese
A range of objects have been recovered from the cathedral, which is being demolished after many years sitting empty.