ST MARY OF THE ANGELS

Boulcott Street     Wellington     New Zealand

St Mary's Parish

History

Restoration and Maintenance

Organ Music at St Mary of the Angels

Stained Glass Windows

Society of Mary
About St Mary's

St Mary of the Angels, a diverse community, seeks to praise and thank God in a place of calm and beauty and strives to be Christ alive in Central Wellington. The territorial area of the parish is quite small. It includes part of the CBD, part of the residential area around The Terrace, and part of the territory of what used to be the Parish of St Joseph in Webb St. There are relatively few individual residences in this area, most of the folk living either in apartments or large blocks of flats. In addition there is a large number of hotels close by, and they contribute significantly to the number of ‘visitors’ in the congregation each week.

On any given Sunday less than a third of those who attend Mass at St Mary’s would consider themselves ‘parishioners’. Over half the congregation describe themselves as ‘non-parishioners who attend regularly’. Again, on any Sunday, ‘visitors’ make up about 10% of the congregation.

The congregation is also diverse as to its ethnic make up. Slightly more than half of those present are NZ European. There are significant Filipino, Korean, and Chinese communities; there is a small part of the congregation who identify as NZ Maori; 14% of the congregation represents a diverse range of other smaller ethnic groups.

A unique feature of St Mary’s is the number of people who live outside the formal boundaries of the parish yet still identify themselves as ‘parishioners’. Because of well-established connections they look to us for visitation and pastoral care even though they live at a distance.

St Mary of the Angels is a ‘parish church’ for some. For many it is a devotional centre at the heart of the city. This blend of territorial parish and devotional centre helps give St Mary’s a unique character. When you add the atmosphere generated by the majesty and beauty of the environment it is easy to sense why so many want to call it ‘home’.