St. Gerard's Church, Wellington

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 9, 4 March 1909, Page 343

St. Gerard's Church, Wellington

The neAv Church of St. Gerard, erected by the Redemptorist Fathers in Hawker street (says the Dominion), is not only a house of worship, it is also a treasure house of art. It is probable that there is not another church in the Dominion, which is so richly and artistically equipped with all the emblems of devotion. The graceful design of the building, crowning its perfect site, has been already described, and reference has been made to the magnificent picture from the Vatican, Gagliardi's ' St. Gerard in Ecstasy,' tlie fourteen paintings of the Stations of the Cross, and other pictures. The beauty of the church has since been enhanced by a series of stained-glass windows imported from England, by a magnificent altar set with many marbles, and by two statues of angels, on either side of the altar, supporting candelabra. The stained-glass windows, which cost not less than £1000, are probably the finest in the Dominion. The large nave window, of three panels, represents the Crucifixion, and as a subsidiary s\ibject the Last Supper, uniting the two ideas of sacrament and sacrifice. The rich purples, deej) reds, and glorious goldens of this picture are not more to be admired than the delicate refinement of the portraiture, the various expressions of the different figures being beauifully conveyed. The face of Mary Magdalen, who kneels at the foot of the Cross, is eloquent of grief and love. This window is the gift of the Bourke family, of Kilbirnie. The south transept window, of three panels, represents the transfiguration of Christ, the three Apostles, Peter, James, and John, being shown below the main figure, and Moses and Elias on either side of Christ, Moses holding the Ten Commandments. The window is given by Mr. J. P. Donnelly, of Hawke's Bay, who is not a Catholic. The opposite transept window shows the Agony in the Garden, with the three Apostles sleeping on the ground, and an angel with the cup of sorrow beside the praying Christ. In these two windows the exaltation of the divinity of Jesus, by the manifestation of which he prepared his Apostles for tLo humiliation of the Garden, is - contrasted with that sad scene in Gethsemane. The picture is the gift of Mrs. McArdle, in memory of her late husband, Mr. Owen McArdle. Tlie three main windows thus render the three principal events of the life of Christ, and in the words of the Very Rev. Father Clune, Superior of the Redemptorist Monastery, are sermons more eloquent than any that can be preached- with the lips in the church which they adorn.

Four quatrefoil windows, at the head of the church, represent angels bearing the implements of the Passion. There are also "six beautiful nave windows. Those on the north side represent St. Gerard Majella (erected by Mr. Keith Townsend, in memory of his wife), St. Joseph (erected by a client of St. Joseph), and St. Teresa (gift of Mr. and Mrs. George Lambert). The nave windows on the south side liave for subjects St. Patrick (given by the H.A.C.B. Society), the Virgin appearing at Lourdes. to little Bernadette (the gift of Miss C. J. Bennett, who is riot a Catholic), and Saint Cecilia (erected by Mr. Monaghan, of Oriental Bay, in memory of his late wife). On the south side of the sacristy is a window representing St. Francis of Sales, erected by the Redemptorist Fathers to commemorate his Grace Archbishop Redwood, St. Francis

bemg his Grace's patron. Opposite that is a window re- " Presenting St. Stephen, the first martyr, erected in memory of the late Father Stephen "Pigeon, by Mr. J. S. Swan. Among the beautiful pictures which adorn the church are a fane copy of Andrea del Sarto's famous painting of the Holy Family, given by the late Mr. Aloysius Macdonald, and a ? copy of the well-known picture, < Mmdonna di Carlo The alUr-fitting, which w^s designed by Mr. John S inf+ n o/ ar / ute ? t j??;n tlie building, measures 16ft 4in by 10ft 9in, aiid cost £500., It was made in Genoa, Italy and erected by Messrs. Hickmott and Son, Dominion marble works. The steps of the predella— or platform on* which the altar stands— are of finest Carrara marble, and the predella itself is of oak, cedar, and walnut, arranged m . Parquetry. The plinth and bases under the altar proper with its columns, represent the finest of the Devonshire marbles, which take a polish like jasper. The four columns supporting the altar table are of Galway green marble. the two columns for the tabernacle door are of jasper the beautiful colors of which are produced by oxide of iron the four cluster columns supporting the baldacchino, or structure in form of a canopy over the altar, are of Genoa green marble, and the ten jewels of the tabernacle door are ot the substance known as Blue John spar, which is found in Derbyshire, and famous on account of its transparent color. The altar and baldacchino are of pentelikon statuary, which is now largely used for ecclesiastical purposes, being very dense of quality -and capable of taking a very high polish. The altar table weighs 22cwt, the front of the altar nearly a ton, and the total weight of the altar-fitting is 7 tons. Two statues of angels, with electrical candelabra, stand on either side of the altar. Their very pedestals, of various beautiful marbles, cost £50 each. The bases are of Devonshire marble, the shafts, or columns, of Galway green, and band and caps of Sienna. The pedestals, without the .statues, are sft 3in high. The ceiemony of unveiling the altar and windows took place on Sunday, and was performed by his Grace Archbishop Redwood. Mass was celebrated by the \ cry Rev Father Keo^i, S.M., B.A. (Rector of St. Patrick's College), at which his Grace presided. The Rev. Father McCarthy, S.M., of St. Patrick's College, preached an eloquent and appropriate sermon on ' The "Church and Art.'