St Mary of the Angels, Wellington

St Mary of the Angels is a Catholic church on the corner of Boulcott Street and O'Reily Avenue in Wellington, New Zealand.

The present building was opened and blessed on 26 March 1922 by Francis Redwood and a solemn pontifical Mass was celebrated by James Michael Liston.

The Gothic marble high altar and tabernacle, in front of a blue backing, includes a sculpted, reredos with statues.

The altar was detached from the reredos and moved forward in the 1960s in the implementation of the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council (the celebration of the Mass facing the congregation).

With the opening of the present church in 1922, a choir of 70 voices sang Mass under the direction of Edward Healy.

The organ of the church is a unique instrument, originally built in 1958 by George Croft and Son Limited from Auckland, but extensively redesigned in 1984 to Max Fernie's specifications.

In New Zealand, buildings assessed as below 33% of standard are considered "earthquake prone" and strengthening is required or a compulsory demolition can be ordered.

The church re-opened in April 2017 after earthquake strengthening to 100% of code, costing $9.5 million, collected in a well-supported public fund-raising campaign.

The look of the interior was largely unchanged except for the shear walls built in two locations on each side of the church near the entrance, and beside the sanctuary.

St Mary of the Angel's interior (2012); before 2017 structural strengthening; the windows of the clerestory, the marble high altar, reredos and side altars are prominent.