St. Francis de Sales

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St Francis de Sales Catholic Church
173 Clyde Street
Island Bay
Wellington 6023

The Church in Island Bay:

  • The building of the first St. Francis de Sales Parish Church was completed in 1906: ‘It was built on The Parade (number 75) of wood and considered at the time to be a substantial building.’
  • Island Bay officially became a parish in 1920
  • The church on The Parade was enlarged in 1922 with a extension that provided a 50% more space.
  • In November 1931 the hall in Humber Street, owned by the parish since1920, had been converted from a theatre and was opened as a second church in Island Bay – Church of the Holy Name of Jesus. The structure of the church was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1942 making it unsafe. It was used for storage and then sold in 1952. ‘The once impressive old building still stands and is now used by a commercial film-making company’
  • The church on The Parade was widened by approximately 60cm in 1940.
  • In 1968 the buildings at 75 The Parade were sold to the Serbian Orthodox Church. The church is now named after Saint Sava (who is considered the founder of the independent Church, and celebrated as the patron saint of education and medicine by Serbian Orthodox Christians).
    The land for a new Parish Church was purchased in 1946.
  • At that time there was a large two storey house on the property and this was used as a hostel for refugee Polish boys until it was demolished in 1959.
  • Fundraising began in earnest in 1961 and the foundation stone of the new church was blessed by Archbishop McKeefry on May 16 1965.

This page is a “work in progress”.