St Patrick's Basilica | |
---|---|
St Patrick's Basilica, South Dunedin, interior | |
![]() | |
45°53′42″S170°30′11″E / 45.89512°S 170.50316°E Coordinates: 45°53′42″S170°30′11″E / 45.89512°S 170.50316°E | |
Location | Dunedin, Otago |
Country | New Zealand |
Denomination | Catholic |
Website | St Patrick's Basilica, South Dunedin |
History | |
Founded | 1878 |
Dedication | St Patrick |
Dedicated | 1894 |
Architecture | |
Functional status | parish church |
Architect(s) | Francis Petre |
Architectural type | Palladian Revival |
Style | Roman Renaissance |
Groundbreaking | 20 March 1892 |
Completed | 7 October 1894 |
Administration | |
Province | Wellington |
Diocese | Dunedin |
Parish | St Patrick's |
Designated | 23 September 2005 |
Reference no. | 2213 |
St Patrick's Basilica in South Dunedin, New Zealand (opened in 1894) is a Catholic church and was the architect Francis Petre's first departure from the Gothic style exemplified in his St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin.
The exterior is incomplete and is "only a shadow of what the architect intended", [1] but the impressive interior is completely realised. With St Patrick's Basilica, Petre turned to the Palladian Revival style with which he is most associated. The interior in contrast to the earlier neo-Gothic style of the cathedral, is richly embellished with classical detailing.
Its single greatest feature is the deeply embossed High Renaissance ceiling, a feature which occurs in many variations in Petre's later work, most notably in St Patrick's Basilica, Oamaru (ceiling installed in 1898) and Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington (1901). In many respects St Patrick's Basilica foreshadows Petre's Wellington cathedral (the other Petre church most like St Patrick's Basilica), the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch (1905), and the last of his major churches, Sacred Heart Basilica, Timaru (1911). [1]
The interior features a large arcaded nave forming a clerestory with two side aisles and a large arch forming the entrance to the sanctuary. Walls are built in a succession of arches surmounted by a cornice of stone which forms part of the roofs of the aisles. Series of stone pilasters are ranged against the walls and on the sides of piers. The style of the capitals of the pilasters is Corinthian. The Basilica has retained its high altar (behind a modern one installed for the post-Vatican II liturgy) and features many fine statues. The 14 great stained glass windows (made by F X Zettler in Munich and purchased through H Credington & Co, Melbourne) represent the mysteries of the Rosary with one (the third sorrowful mystery, "The Crowning with Thorns") omitted. [2] The Sanctuary is dominated by a large oil painting by Giuseppi Brazi [3] of St Patrick and St Brigid interceding with Our Blessed Lady and her Divine Son. [2] The Stations of the Cross, which are of terracotta and framed in oak, were made in Paris in 1901. [3] Thomas Heffernan and his wife Margaret were significant funders of the church and they are notably memorialised in one of the windows. [4]
St Patricks is known as a centre of Catholic devotion in Dunedin. "I was only in the parish a few days when I realised the great number of people who came in prayer on their way to work, on their way home, on their way shopping, on their way to pick up children at school." [5] This devotion was accentuated (especially in the 1950s-1970s [6] ) by the Novena in honour of Our Lady. [5] This was held every Saturday night at 7.00pm and consisted of prayers, hymns, a short homily, the reading of petitions placed in the box at the shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, some thanksgivings and finally Benediction. "Large numbers came to the novena, from all over the city. They filled the seats and stood in the aisles and porch. The devotion was followed with great numbers flocking to the four confessionals, where the priests remained for lengthy periods." [6] The novena was so popular that a special bus provided transport for those in outlying parishes who wished to attend. [4]
St Patrick's 125th anniversary was celebrated in October 2019 over a weekend. Over 500 people attend a combined Sunday Mass con-celebrated by Bishop Michael Dooley and Bishop Paul Martin followed by a shared lunch outside in fine weather to enjoy food, friendship, music and a bouncy castle for the children. [4] At the commencement on the Friday night, current parishioner Jo Bell organised a replica set of novena celebration which 130 people attended. On the Saturday night, Sean Brosnahan, a curator at Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, gave a presentation on the history of the basilica. He noted that the early history of St Patrick's was influenced by the diversity of population in the South Dunedin "flats" area and the particular concentration of Catholic Irish people there. He spoke also of two important figures in the history of the church. These were prosperous roading contractor and important contributor to the church, Thomas Heffernan, and Francis Petre, St Patrick's Basilica's architect. [4]
The Catholic Church in New Zealand is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope in Rome, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the New Zealand bishops.
Francis William Petre, sometimes known as Frank Petre, was a New Zealand-born architect based in Dunedin. He was an able exponent of the Gothic revival style, one of its best practitioners in New Zealand. He followed the Catholic Church's initiative to build places of worship in Anglo-Saxon countries inspired by Romance forms of architecture. His basilica Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, in Christchurch was demolished in 2021.
The Diocese of Dunedin is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese covers the same area as the provinces of Otago and Southland in the South Island of New Zealand. Area 65,990 km2, population 272,541 (2001). Anglicans are traditionally the third largest religious group in Otago and Southland after Presbyterians and Roman Catholics.
Trinity Catholic College is a Catholic, state-integrated, co-educational, secondary school located in central Dunedin, New Zealand. The school was founded in 1989 as the successor of several other secondary schools the oldest of which was founded in 1871. Trinity is the only Catholic secondary school in Dunedin and is open to enrolments from throughout the entire city. The school's proprietor is the Bishop of Dunedin.
Robert Arthur Lawson was one of New Zealand's pre-eminent 19th century architects. It has been said he did more than any other designer to shape the face of the Victorian era architecture of the city of Dunedin. He is the architect of over forty churches, including Dunedin's First Church for which he is best remembered, but also other buildings, such as Larnach Castle, a country house, with which he is also associated.
St Joseph's Cathedral in Dunedin, New Zealand, is the Roman Catholic Cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunedin. It is located in City Rise, some 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the west of the city centre.
Philippe Joseph Viard was a French priest and the first Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Wellington, New Zealand.
The Latin Rite Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunedin is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. Its cathedral and see city are located in Dunedin, the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It was formed on 26 November 1869 from a portion of the territory in the Diocese of Wellington, before it was elevated to an archdiocese.
The architecture of New Zealand, though influenced by various cultures, expresses pre-dominantly European styles. Polynesian influences emerge in some areas.
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament was a Catholic cathedral located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch and seat of the Bishop of Christchurch.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and of Saint Mary His Mother, better known as Sacred Heart Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral on Hill Street, Wellington, New Zealand. It is the parish church of the Thorndon Catholic parish and the cathedral of the Archbishop of Wellington. The New Zealand Parliament is a close neighbour of the cathedral. However, the Thorndon Catholic parish predates that institution. The cathedral is part of a Catholic precinct which includes St Mary's College; Sacred Heart Cathedral School; St Mary's Convent, the motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy in Wellington; the Catholic Centre, in which Catholic administration is located; and Viard House, which is both the cathedral parish presbytery and the residence of the archbishop.
All Saints has been open since 1865, and is presently in the Dunedin North parish which includes the northern part of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand and is made up of the former parish of All Saints and the former parish of St. Martin's North East Valley. It is part of the Diocese of Dunedin. The parish boundaries include North East Valley, Pine Hill, North Dunedin, Ravensbourne and Leith Valley. The building is the oldest church still used as a place of worship in Dunedin. All Saints Church is the chapel of Selwyn College, Otago. The College was built around the church and the college and parish have a close relationship. Selwyn College was built as an Anglican theological college in 1893, from the beginning it also housed non-theological students from the university. All Saints' is located close to the campuses of the University of Otago and the Otago Polytechnic.
James Whyte was the third Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunedin (1920–1957).
Michael Verdon was the 2nd Catholic Bishop of Dunedin (1896–1918).
Leonard Anthony Boyle was a New Zealand bishop. He was the fifth Catholic Bishop of Dunedin from 1985 to 2005.
St Mary's Cathedral was the cathedral of the Catholic bishop of Wellington, New Zealand for 47 years in the nineteenth century from its opening in 1851 until it was destroyed by fire in 1898. When the building reached its final form in 1867, St Mary's Cathedral was considered one of the finest, if not the finest, ecclesiastical structure in the colony. It was an important landmark in Wellington and its situation on Golder's Hill in Thorndon meant that it could be seen from many parts of the city and from points around the Wellington Harbour. Its beautiful, gilded statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, high up on the tower, and the gilded crosses on its parapets, gables and tower were particularly admired features.
St Patricks Church is a heritage-listed Roman Catholic church at 58 Morgan Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Andrea Giovanni Stombuco and built from 1880 to 1882 by John Arthur Manis O'Keefe. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The Sacred Heart Basilica or Timaru Basilica, is a Catholic church in Timaru, New Zealand. Despite its name, it is not designated a basilica by the Catholic Church. It was designed by the New Zealand architect, Francis Petre and is one of his most celebrated works. Its size and appearance make it one of the most important historic buildings of Timaru and of the South Canterbury region. The Basilica's twin towers and copper cupola are highly visible features of the Timaru skyline, especially from the south. The Basilica is also one of the "most noteworthy examples of ecclesiastical architecture" in New Zealand with elements of "Roman and Byzantine architecture with touches of Art Nouveau decoration." It is a registered historic place, category 1.
The St Patrick's Basilica or Oamaru Basilica, as it is popularly known because of its style of architecture, is a Catholic church in Oamaru, New Zealand. It was designed by the prominent New Zealand architect Francis Petre and is one of his most celebrated works. It is one of the most important historic buildings of Oamaru and of the North Otago region. The Basilica's classical portico and three domes are an admired feature of the Oamaru townscape and the building is particularly noted for the high quality of the stone carving and fine plasterwork of its architectural features. The Basilica "must surely have one of the most noble church interiors in the country. Built entirely of Oamaru stone the exterior has weathered more than one would have expected, but inside the church glows with reflected light from the creamy stone which is virtually in its original state." "The interior is bathed in abundant natural light, and with clear glass rather than stained in the high nave windows, the quality of light is enhanced."