Renovated Oamaru Basilica to reopen this weekend

Dunedin Bishop Michael Dooley will formally reopen the basilica on March 30 at 2pm.

Parishioners will assemble at St Joseph’s School to process across the road to the Basilica. There, Bishop Dooley will unlock the door, conduct a blessing, then celebrate the main Sunday Mass. The usual 9.30am Mass that day is being transferred to 2pm to enable the rededication.

During the renovations, which took 10 months, Masses have been celebrated at St Kevin’s College.

The refurbishment, which cost about $1.4million, includes a new accessible side entrance, with toilets, leading into the main Basilica. The entire interior has been updated in keeping with the building’s Category A Heritage NZ status.

It includes new pews replicating the old, a wider aisle, carpet, a new sound system and organ, and restoring liturgical elements, including the baptismal font and the sanctuary.

The renovations were initially scheduled to have been completed by Christmas. Principal contractor David Fridd said that the interior refit plus an extension had presented “a small challenge”. This reflected the increasingly complex supply issues for the construction sector.

Mr Fridd expressed satisfaction at the project in a substantial building in Oamaru. He had recently completed a similar job on St Joseph’s Church in Temuka.

“It’s quite nice working with the old buildings. It’s quite nice doing an extension while keeping it in keeping with the original building,” he said.

St Patrick’s Parish Centre administrator Elaine Hurley said parishioners were “relieved” that the Basilica reopening is happening.

“We’ve been waiting for a long time . . . there was a huge sigh and then clapping on the announcement at Mass last Sunday,” she said.

The foundation stone for the Basilica was laid in 1893. Architect Francis Petre, who had already supervised the design of several buildings for the Catholic Church in Dunedin, was commissioned to design the building in the 19th century.

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Parishioners relieved Basilica is to reopen (By Brendon McMahon/Otago Daily Times – subscription required)

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