A SACRED SPACE, OUR SPIRITUAL HOME
The Metropolitan Cathedral is an architectural gem and a place of beauty, which inspires many. Here you will find a place of spiritual enrichment and a warm welcome whether you come for Mass, a concert, a pilgrimage, or just time out from the busy city life. Whatever your connection with this sacred place, you can sense its significance in the story of both the Catholic and the wider Wellington community.
From John A Cardinal Dew
I lived in the precinct for over 28 years and, while I’ve celebrated many Archdiocesan events here, it has also been a place where I offered daily Mass and found peaceful prayer. Sitting in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel before 8am Mass is a memory I hold with great fondness – it is such a beautiful place.
Through my time, I heard so many people speak of the Cathedral as a place where they ‘grew up’ – attended Mass, received sacraments, joined in matrimony, celebrated milestones, and said goodbye to those they love. It is undoubtedly a building with great heritage value but, more importantly, the whole building has well over a hundred years of different families’ history inside - truly a focal point for Catholics in Wellington.
The restoration of the Cathedral is vital, and an essential part of the prayer and liturgical life of the Archdiocese, a place to celebrate joyful liturgies and build on that sense of belonging to the wider Catholic community. The doors have been closed for a long time, and we hope that this final push will allow us to re-open them.
I ask you to keep this sacred space in your heart. During these challenging times that we find ourselves in, we need sacred spaces where we can gather and grow our relationship with God. Restoring Sacred Heart Cathedral signals far and wide that there is something more out there for us all: prayerfulness, caring, and concern for others in the community.
This is more than just bricks and mortar; it feeds into a way of life that we need as human beings, something that takes us deeper and touches our hearts and minds.
During the formal Mass where I was appointed Archbishop in 2005, I asked that you all came with me, as I took up the shepherd’s staff. It was an invitation for people from all parishes to work together in sharing the gospel and caring for others, an invitation that starts at the Cathedral and spreads out to all other parishes.
On my recent retirement I invite you again, to come together, to support the Cathedral’s restoration and to ensure that we are ‘home again’. ✟
From Archbishop Paul Martin SM
My life and work in the Church has taken me all over New Zealand and the world. I feel very fortunate to have been led here at this pivotal time in the restoration process, as the Archbishop of the Wellington Archdiocese – all a part of God’s plan.
We’re about to embark on a new stage in the life of the Diocese and my desire is to see the church community support people in faith and help others to know Christ. I want the Cathedral to be a living house of prayer, where there are opportunities for people to gather and celebrate our faith, to praise God through music, work together to support others, learn about, and deepen our own faith and relationship with God.
The Sacred Heart Cathedral has a very long and important history attached to it. Our parents and grandparents recognised the need to have a focal point for the Diocese and made immense sacrifices to bring this Cathedral to life.
We must do justice to our forebears who built such a magnificent place to gather, to celebrate and worship and to continue to treasure this place. We must honour and support their vision and continue it for those yet to come, providing a place where people can continue to discover the Good News of Christ.
My hope is that the Cathedral once again becomes the centre of life for our Diocese. To do this, we must re-open its doors.
As we know, global events of the last three years have made it particularly trying, and with a change in personnel, we have lost momentum with the restoration campaign. We are conscious that we need to get the fundraising back on track and move into the future.
We live in challenging times, where things of faith can feel quite fragile. The stability the Cathedral provides and symbolises helps us to have a better sense of who we are, why we are here, to renew our resolve to do what we can for others, to support the faith life of people already within our community, and to offer a place of welcome and discovery too.
The Cathedral is the cornerstone of the Diocese. It belongs to us all. It is a home for us all. ✟
