Church Name: St Mary
(photo courtesy of Marist Archives, Wellington)
Bishop Redwood instructed Fr Laurence Ginaty in 1881 to divide the Christchurch parish in two and find a site for a church in the north. A property in Manchester Street was bought in 1885 and in April 1889 Fr Theophile Le Menant des Chesnais SM became first parish priest, with Mass being celebrated in a converted house on the property that had been used as a convent by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.
On April 1, 1889 he took the house over as a presbytery, removing some ground floor walls to enlarge the convent chapel. It was not large enough, within weeks the congregation spilling out onto the verandah. However it continued in use as the parish church until August 1890.
