The South Porch has large colourful lattice windows which admit the sunlight. PLAN
22. THROUGH TO THE NAVE
From the South Porch, a door leads through to the nave. To the right of the door is a stoup in the shape of a shell with holy water.
23. FONT
The baptismal font sits in an open space in the Southwest corner of the nave. Baptism is regarded as the rite of entry to the Church and to the Christian faith.
24. NAVE
We stand at the back of the nave and look towards the sanctuary with its large rose window. The interior is a simple rectangle with vaulted roof. Gothic in style, there are two rows of columns, a central aisle, and two side aisles. The side walls are lined with Stations of the Cross, and the many stained glass windows are vivid and colourful.
25. NAVE VAULTING
The nave roof is vaulted in a simple style, with central bosses of varying patterns. At the side are colourful latticed clerestory windows which give ample light to the interior. Below these windows is a shallow triforium strip with blind arches, and below this again, the wall at the top of the main supporting arches appears as a grid of carved foliage emblems.
26. WEST WALL OF NAVE
Looking to the back of the nave we observe the high rose window with the gallery below. Organ pipes rise on either side of the window. Directly above the West doors is a triangular stained glass window, and there is an old framed image on either side of the door.
27. WINDOW ABOVE WEST DOOR
The ‘octagonal window’ directly above the main entrance doors was supplied by Mayer and Co., Munich. This window was a gift from Bishop Moran in 1890 and it carries the inscription: ‘Pray for Patrick Moran, Bishop of Dunedin.’ The window shows a circle of angels in adoration of the Eucharistic host.
28. WEST ROSE WINDOW
The Rose Window above the main entrance door up in the choir loft has a tracery of 132 pieces of coloured glass. The window was also supplied by Mayer and Co., Munich, in February 1887. The Rose Window, a feature of the Gothic style, is so designed that the eight intersecting circles overlap to form the leaf pattern. The window was a gift from Mr P. and Miss Murphy. Spot the organist’s music!
29. WEST WALL
Standing near the font we look across the nave past the West door. On the wall from left is Station of the Cross VIII, a framed Cathedral sketch, and on the pedestal between the doors an angel holding a stoup.
30. SKETCH AND STOUP
The sketch shows Petre’s vision of what the Cathedral was going to be. The original design was for a much larger building, with transepts and a tall spire 60 metres high over the crossing. At right an angel holds the stoup for holy water.
31. WEST AISLE
The Cathedral has a wide West aisle. The organ loft (gallery) is built over the outside porch and across this aisle.
32. OLD INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPH
This old photograph shows the organ and the layout of the gallery. The organ shown here has three manuals. I have no information as to whether or not this organ is still in use.
33. NORTH NAVE
The 14 stained glass windows on the side walls are one of the Cathedral’s many attractive features. They date from 1886. In keeping with Petre’s style of architecture, each window has a different design in Oamaru stone which is further enhanced by the stained glass beautifully depicting saints of the Church. Station VII is just to the left of the main view.
34. NORTH NAVE WINDOWS I
These first four of the seven windows of the North wall depict: • 1. St Anne teaching the Blessed Virgin Mary; • 2. The Annunciation (Pray for the Children of Mary); • 3. St Patrick and St John; • 4. St Aloysius and St Columba(n).
35. NORTH NAVE WINDOWS II
The remaining windows show: • 5. St Dominic and St Catherine of Sienna; • 6. St Coleman and St Finbar; • 7. St Stanislaus and St Margaret. Many of the saints depicted are Irish, and are indicative of the Irish influence among the clergy and laity of the time. The nave windows were made by Franz Mayer and Co., Munich. This firm has been working in stained glass from 1848 to the present day.
36. SOUTH NAVE
We turn across to the South nave. ••• Apparently Franz Mayer had a school for crippled children, and founded his Art Studios to provide work for these children. At times as many as a hundred young people worked on church furnishings in his studios. Cathedral accounts for 1886 record that Bishop Moran paid £510 for the 14 stained glass windows in the nave.
37. SOUTH NAVE WINDOWS I
The first four of the seven stained glass windows on the South wall show: • 1. St Edward the Confessor and St Joanna Frances de Chantal; • 2. St Cornelius and St John; • 3. St Michael and St Anne; • 4. St Augustin of Kent and St Cuthbert.
38. SOUTH NAVE WINDOWS II
The remaining three windows depict: • 5. Sacred Heart of Jesus and St Mary; and then the saints: • 6. St Lawrence and St Bridget ; and • 7. St Rose of Lima and St Thomas Aquinas. The donors window #7 kept alive the Scottish influence with the request : ‘Pray for Mary, Queen of Scots, and John and Rose Gartland and their family.’
39. STATIONS OF THE CROSS
The 14 Stations of the Cross dating from 1890 were manufactured by Franz Mayer and Co., Munich at a cost of £130. The figures for each Station were carved in wood, and plaster moulds were made of the figures. The plaster casts were then appropriately painted. Each Station is framed in a Gothic arch, supported on a column and surmounted by a wooden cross.
40. NORTHEAST CORNER
There are two plaques on the wall in the Northeast corner of the nave. The texts are: • ‘Pray for the donors Hanna & Mazza Mansoor’, and • ‘Pray for Anthony & Ruby Joseph and Family’. They are in grateful recognition of the Lebanese parishioners and families who, over many years, have supported this parish. There is also an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.