Story: Catholic Church

Catholic church, Wellington, 1840s

Catholic church, Wellington, 1840s

This 1847 engraving shows a religious procession outside the first Catholic chapel in Wellington. It was opened in 1843 and headed by Father Jeremiah O'Reily, an Irishman who had arrived in Wellington that year with the New Zealand Company. Built on what became Boulcott Street, this chapel was replaced in 1874 by the church of St Mary of the Angels. The church was destroyed by fire in 1918 and the present St Mary of the Angels opened on the same site in 1922.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: E-070-003
Hand-coloured engraving after a drawing by Samuel Charles Brees

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Rory Sweetman, 'Catholic Church - First Catholic missionaries', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/29277/catholic-church-wellington-1840s (accessed 25 April 2024)

Story by Rory Sweetman, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 17 Jul 2018