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After 113, the peach-coloured church perched on a hill in Mt Victoria has closed due to earthquake concerns.
As Cardinal John Dew shuts the doors of St Gerard s church for the last time, a hush falls over the congregation. Soft piano notes reverberate up to the criss-crossed rafters. It was a solemn way to conclude the final mass held in the peach-coloured building which, nestled on a hill in Mt Victoria, has been a landmark in Wellington’s skyline for the past 113 years. The historic church has closed because of its earthquake-prone status. Its owners made the “difficult decision” after they struggled to raise the $11 million to $13m needed to pay for strengthening work. Only $42,000 had been donated by July 2020.
1 NEWS
St Gerard’s Church in Wellington will close after it failed to raise enough funds to strengthen the building, which is vulnerable to earthquake damage.
After 113 years, St Gerard s Church – a familiar sight on Wellington s skyline – will hold its final mass at the end of May as it closes over “safety concerns” but the fate of the buildings remains unclear. Sitting above Oriental Bay, the St Gerard’s monastery and church buildings are heritage-listed. Owned by the International Catholic Programme of Evangelisation (ICPE), the buildings are rated at 25 per cent of the New Zealand building standard. Anything below 34 per cent is considered earthquake-prone.
Your playlist will load after this ad One of the capital’s most well-known landmarks has been attempting to raise funds since 2012 to undertake earthquake strengthening. Source: 1 NEWS
The owners, the ICPE Mission, have been attempting to raise funds to strengthen the building since 2012, when it was first determined the church was vulnerable to earthquake damage, director Silvana Abela said.
The building was constructed in 1908 and is rated at 25 per cent of the building standard, when buildings legally need to be strengthened to 34 per cent of the building standard.
Last year, a request to have the deadline for strengthening the category one historic building extended to 2037 was granted by Wellington City Council, she said.
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