Christchurch Catholic Diocese unveils plans for new $80m Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

The design of Christchurch's new $80 million Catholic cathedral has been unveiled.

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is being built on the Barbadoes Street site of the 1905 original, which was demolished in 2020 after suffering irreparable damage in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch wants to raise $16m from parishioners to help fund the project.

In a pastoral letter on Sunday, Bishop Michael Gielen appealed to Catholic families in Canterbury and on the West Coast to financially contribute.

Gielen announced in 2024 the cathedral would return to the diocese's traditional home on Barbadoes Street and that it would retain the name Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

He said that in the two years since significant work had been undertaken to develop the design in partnership with the architecture firm Warren and Mahoney.

"When I arrived in the diocese four years ago, one of the questions I was most often asked was: 'What is happening with the cathedral?'. That question revealed something profound, the deep love our people have for their Mother Church," Gielen said.

"Over these past four years, through listening, prayer and discernment, that shared vision has taken shape."

Gielen believed people would see in the design: "a cathedral that glorifies God, that serves as a beacon of faith in our city, that responds to the realities of the present day".

The diocese's cathedral campaign manager, Tony Brazier, said the project had an $80m budget that would cover the 800-seat cathedral, the attached perpetual adoration chapel and the Te Rangimarie community centre.

Brazier said about $45m of the funds needed to build the cathedral would come from insurance proceeds and the sale of diocesan assets.

Of the $35m required through fundraising, more than $19m had already been found, he said.

"Bishop Michael is emulating what Bishop Grimes did, inviting every Catholic family to make a sacrificial offering to build our new cathedral," he said

Gielen said he had heard from many people who had a sense of pride that their grandparents or great-grandparents helped fund the construction of the original Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

"It's now our turn to answer the ancient call to build something that will last for generations," he said.

"I have been struck by the generosity of people who recognise what a sign of hope our cathedral will be for Christchurch and our region. That generosity has been seen around New Zealand and from people of other faith traditions."

The diocese said that when half of the remaining $16m had been raised, the project would move towards final preparations for construction.

The cathedral will be the first new Catholic cathedral in New Zealand in 120 years.