Chapter XXI.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral—Constitution of diocese—Appointment of Bishop Grimes: his work and death—The New Zealand International Exhibition—Death of Sir John Hall.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral was opened and dedicated by Archbishop Carr, of Melbourne, on February 12, 1905, in the presence of a distinguished gathering, which included His Excelleney Lord Plunket, the Governor of New Zealand; the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon, P.C., Prime Minister of New Zealand; Sir Joseph Ward, and Archbishop Kelly, of Sydney. A letter was read on this occasion from Cardinal Merry del Val, Secretary of State to the Pope, conveying the congratulations of His Holiness.
The site of the building in Barbadoes Street was originally set apart for the purposes of the Roman Catholic Church as long ago as 1860. Canterbury was then within the diocese of Bishop Viard, of Wellington, and in August, 1860, this Bishop sent two Marist Fathers—Father Seon and Father Chataigner—to open a Mission in Christchurch.[1]
About three acres in Barbadoes Street were set aside
- ↑ This was the first establishment of the Roman Catholic Churech in Christchurch, but there had been a much earlier establishment at Akaroa. The frigate “L’Aube,” which accompanied the “Compte de Paris,” sent out by the Nantes Bordelaise Company, landed the Rev. Fathers Compte and Pesant in 1840. The story of the French settlement at Akaroa is an interesting page in the History of New Zealand, but does not come within the scope of the present volume.
