NEW CATHOLIC CHURCH, ASHBURTON.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2707, 11 December 1882, Page 3

NEW CATHOLIC CHURCH, ASHBURTON.

DEDICATION CEREMONY,

[By Telegraph.]

[from our correspondent.] ASHBURTON, December 10

The ceremony of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Name of Jestis was performed to-day by his Lordship the Bight Rev. Francis Redwood, D.D., Bishop of Wellington, assisted by the Rev. Father O’Donnell, of Christchurch, and Rev. Father Coffey, of Ashburton. -The ceremony commenced shortly after eleven o’clock, by which time there was a very large number congregated in the spacious building. High Mass was sung by the Rev. Father O’Donnell, and the sermon was preached by Dr. Redwood. The Bishop took for his text part of the 30th verse of the xxviii chapter of St. Matthew, “ Behold I am with you all days, even unto the consummationof the world.” The preacher delivered a most able, eloquent, and forcible address, tracing the history and progress of Roman Catholicism from the early times, for the purpose of showing how the Church had triumphed over the most bitter persecutions, and succeeded in doing more than any other body in the development of true Christianity and the advance of civilisation. He referred to the great men of genius who belonged to the Church of Rome, and told his congregation that they owed their present state of liberty

and general prosperity to the good done by the Popes, the bishops, the priests, and others, and stated that the monks of old had done an immense deal of the good. The Bishop brought his address to a close by congratulating the Catholics of the district on the possession of so fine a church, stating that he was astonished at seeing so beautiful a building as that had been erected in Ashburton. He paid a high compliment to the Rev. Father Coffey, and concluded by forcibly impressing upon the Catholics present the importance of sub- ' scribing liberally in order that the debt on the building might be paid, and the chancel, transepts, tower and spire completed. He in tended to give a donation of .1110 himself, but ho hoped this would be largely supplemented by ethers, and that their contributions would not be influenced by the small amount he was prepared to give.

During the service a portion of Mozart’s Twelfth Mass was sung by a united choir under the directorship of H. Gates. The music was sung in a manner that reflected great credit on the choir, all of whom have been most regular and painstaking at the practices, and Mr Gates is deserving of much praise for the efficient way in which he had conducted the practices, and also for themanner in which the musical portion of the service was conducted this morning. As a mark of appreciation of the gratuitous services rendered by this gentleman, ho has been presented with a handsome silver mounted baton, bearing a suitable inscription ; whilst the services of his sister. Miss Gatos, who presided at the organ, have been recognised by a handsom* present. The solos in Mozart’s mass were taken by Miss Craighead, and sung with such accuracy and effect as is seldom beard from an amateur in this district. This lady possesses a beautifully rich, clear voice, and she sang the music with great depth of feeling and pathos throughout, and in a manner that showed she had devoted an unusual amount of time and attention to the difficult task she had been induced to perform. Service was held in the church again in the evening, when there was a full congregation. The following is a brief description of the church as it now stands : The architectural features are similar to those of many churches in the south of France and Belgium, being what is known as the Flemish Gothic style of architecture. The building is designed to form a cross, with tower and spire at one end. At present only what is termed the foot of the cross is built, but this in itself goes to form a commodious as well as exceedingly comfortable place of worship. The foundations are of solid concrete, and rising from this to a considerable height are concrete walls, with carved and moulded Oamaru stone buttresses and facings. From this a short steep roof commences, and joins the walls of the upper portion of the building, this latter part being of wood. The lower walls each contain five triple windows of Gothic design, with mullions of Oamaru stone, and ths upper fwalls contain the same number of windows of a corresponding design, with the exception of iron being used instead of stone. The present dimensions of the building are —Length, 80 ft., width, 40ft Gin; height, to the ridge of roof 52ft Gin, all outside measurement. The tower, which is built of concrete with Oamaru stone facings, is carried to a height of 44ft, being within 12ft of the ridge of the roof. The tower contains two largo quartette windows, of Gothic design, the amount of stone used in these being 168 ft in one, and 120 ft in the other. Rising above the tower as it now stands will be built of stone and concrete a belfry, with square louvred windows, and surmounting this will be a spire built of wood and sheeted with lead, the height of tower and spire when complete to be 120 ft from the ground level to the apex. The roofing at present is covered with shingles, but on the completion of the building it is intended to replace those with slates. At the entrance to the building from the main street are two porches 6ft 6in by 7ft, built of stone and concrete. The baptistry is 15ft by 15ft 9in, the height from floor to ceiling being 17ft. Access is gained to the organ loft by a spiral staircase, the chamber being 15ft Oin by 15ft, and in this part of the building is a full and very rich-toned Smith American organ, the instrument having been imported by Mr H. J. Wicks specially for the use of the church. Running round the inside of the building to the height of the window sills is a nicely pannolled dadoing of varnished, kauri, the wood used being of excellent quality and richly veined. The roof is supported on either side by ten pillars resting on Port Chalmers stone basements set in concrete, the woodwork of the pillars being marbled and varnished. Arches are formed from pillar to pillar down the aisles, a fretwork in wood giving the archways an effective appearance, and the roof is lined with tongued and grooved hoards laid diagonally and varnished. At the end of the church a temporary chancel is made, and the archway leading to the north and south transepts are boarded up, provision being made to allow future building operations to go on without interfering with the holding of the usual services. The whole of the interior woodwork is varnished, and the concrete walls are plastered with three coats of plaster, the final coating being of the best plaster of Paris and Green Island sand. All the windows are glazed with the best cathedral glass, the ground work being sage green with an edging of stained glass, and in the centre of each window is a cross of stained glass, all the crosses being of a corresponding design. The whole of the glazing was done by Messrs Taylor and Oakley, of Christchurch. Provision is made for lighting the church artificially, two snn lights of twelve gas jets each being fitted over the aisles, while the baptistry is lighted by two ordinary gas lights, and the organ loft with a five jet snn light. Each of the porches have an ordinary gas jet, the lights through the building numbering in all thirty-three. The seating accommodation has been provided with a view both _to convenience and comfort, and the interior of the building generally presents a most comfortable and pleasing appearance. The chancel to be built will give au additional 40ft to the length of the church, and each of the transept's will extend 27ft eastward, with a proportionate width, and the material to bo used in making the additions will be in unison with that already brought into requisition. Mr Peter, of Dunedin, was the architect, and Mr Small, also of Dunedin, was the contractor, a sub-con-tract for the stonework being aftewards taken by Messrs Stephenson and Haigh. The building operations have been carried out to the entire satisfaction of the architect, and Messrs Stephenson and Haigh were highly complimented for the very superior manner in which the whole of the stone work has been executed. Great satisfaction was also expressed at the admirable way in which the gas fittings have been put in, this portion of the work being entrusted te Mr Dolman, of Ashburton. As it at present stands the building is a prominent land mark, and can he seen for many miles round, and when the tower and spire are completed it will be by far the highest and most prominent structure between the Cathedral City and Timaru. The Presbytery (also a commodious and tastefully designed building) and the church stands, on a valuable three-quarter acre section in Burnott street West, close to the centre of the town, all enclosed with substantial fencing, the spare ground being tastefully laid out as lawn and flower garden. Much has been said of late about the progress of Ashburton, and amongst the many buildings that have sprung into existence during the past few months, the Roman Catholic Church yesterday, dedicated to the ‘ Holy Name of Jesus,” is by no moans the least worthy of special notice, and the Roman Catholics of the district are to be congratulated on the possession of so substantial and commodious a place of public worship.