St Teresa of Lisieux Parish, Riccarton

D 1203 Riccarton 1

Originally part of St Mary’s Parish on Manchester St, the parish of Riccarton was formed in 1924, with Fr Thomas Hanrahan appointed the first parish priest. From 1917 a small wooden church, located on Peer St, served the area west of Hagley Park. It became the Parish church until 1929 when a stone church was built and dedicated to St Teresa.

In the early years of the parish, the education of the children was under the care of the Sisters of Mercy at Villa Maria in a building known as ‘The Meadow School’, originally the wooden parish church.  By 1935 it was decided to site a school beside the parish church, which would be attended by the younger children. St Teresa’s Kindergarten opened in November 1936. In 1940 it was designated a full primary school, with the Sisters of Mercy staffing the school until 1956 when the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny took over the school.

By the mid-1960s the church was packed to capacity and the parish considered extending the existing church. In the end a complete rebuild was deemed more practical and the new St Teresa’s was opened and blessed by Bishop Ashby on 25 May 1969.

The parish, through the clergy, various groups and pastoral workers, have continued to support the needs of the congregation, with masses offered for the Spanish, Tongan and Filipino communities.

Parish Priests who have served in Riccarton parish:

Rev Thomas Hanrahan 1924 – 1963
Rev Denis Lordan 1964 – 1967
Rev Thomas Liddy 1967-1977
Rev Leo O’Connor 1978 – 1982
Fr B W Pierce (Co-Pastor) 1979 -1981
Fr J Kelly (Co-Pastor) 1982
Rev Gerry Kane 1981 – 1989
Patrick Thwaites 1986 – 1997
Bishop Barry Jones (Administrator) 1998
Fr John O’Connor (Administrator) 1999
Rev Jim Nicholas 2000 – 2006
Fr R Rodelas (Admin?) 2007
Rev Ramiel Alvaraz 2007 – 2011
Rev Antoine Thomas CSJ 2011 – 2017
Fr Michael Therese Scheerger CSJ 2018 –
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St Teresa of Lisieux Parish, Riccarton