Building Towards our Future

Our vision for the Catholic Parish of Christchurch North is of a missionary parish bringing people to come to know Jesus Christ personally, helping them grow as disciples, and going out to others with the Gospel message.

The Building Committee asks the question: How do we translate this vision into a design brief for our Church and Pastoral Community Centre?

To establish a vibrant Catholic missionary precinct in North Christchurch that serves as a spiritual and educational epicentre for our parish by fostering a united and inclusive community.

We will achieve this Mission by;

• developing a timeless Catholic Church,

• establishing parish facilities to enable and grow our missionary, spiritual and educational focus,

• purposefully engaging with our parish, our parish schools, our communities, and diocese,

• taking an inter-generational and multi-cultural approach

The scope of the Building Committee includes the following:

• Demolition or retention of existing buildings

• Design and construction of new buildings

• Handover / commissioning of the buildings to the parish

• Sale of existing properties / buildings

• Defining a design process

• Managing the timeline and budget, including managing fundraising

• Managing reporting lines and communication lines with the following:

  • Diocesan Office

  • Parish Leadership Team

  • School Leaders

  • Parish & Parish Groups

St Joseph's Parish Centre will be considered as part of the overall development plan for the site.  The Visionary Master Plan has been developed to allow us to retain the building and for it to be used.  The building doesn't provide all the functionality that was identified during the consultation process, but as it is a building that exists it does provide us with an ability to stage our development

Every year, each parish does a Mass count in August. We have a very clear picture of the past and current numbers when it comes to Mass attendance across the three parishes that came together in the north. We will also (with support from the Diocese) undertake research into our parish demographics and likely areas of residential growth.

Because of the Bishop’s intention that we gather as a community in one Church on a Sunday, our current Mass count figures and future aspirations for growth are factors in the Bishop’s decision to build one new Church in our Parish. Our current three churches are too small for our combined congregation and future aspiration.

Two of the three Churches require substantial further strengthening and repair, and all of our Churches are over 50 years old - this too is a factor in the Bishop’s decision to build a new Church.

The Parish is going to establish a fundraising committee to assist with the process. This group will be separate to, but work in with, the building committee. There will also be a funding framework between the Diocese and Parish. The final setup of this is yet to be fully determined and is partly a function of the estimated development cost that will be established after the master planning and concept design work.

Gifting from parishioners - either up front or over a period of years- and the sale of other land and buildings will contribute to the funding.

The exact outcome for these churches is yet to be finalised but they are to be part of the overall planning as we look to centralise our activities around a vibrant and exciting hub. There will be a mix of land and asset sales required to support the Parish aspirations. As this becomes more definitive the plans will be shared with the Parish.

The Decree of De-consecration of St. Matthew’s Church, which was issued on July 26, 2024, to relegate St. Matthew’s from being a sacred space, has been confirmed by Bishop Michael. The Building Committee is now in the process of starting the work to have the church building brought down.

Regarding St. Matthew’s Parish Hall, the Building Committee will be commencing discussions with the Diocese Catholic Education Office and St. Patrick’s School to transfer the Hall into their care. Currently, the school has the operational management of the Parish Hall.

The Christchurch City Council has issued a statement indicating that the church is earthquake prone in its current state.  This does not apply to the Pastoral Centre.

Decisions regarding Christ the King Church will be made as part of the overall development planning and costing work for a new Church on the Papanui site to determine what a staged or long-term solution looks like for the parish community.

Feasibility around what is the best long term solution for the Parish will take into account Christ the King Church and the cost it would take to return the building to a safe state for use by the Parish.

Conversations between the parish, school, and diocese will continue as we look towards the future of Christ the King Church, Pastoral Centre, and Christ the King Presbytery.