page_title: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington
section_title: Historic ceremonies
hierarchical_section_title: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington / Music / Historic ceremonies
caption_attribution_description: English: Interior of Sared Heart Basilica, Wellington, New Zealand. New Zealand Historic Places Trust Register number: 214.
context_page_description: The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and of Saint Mary His Mother, better known as Sacred Heart Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral on Hill Street, Wellington, New Zealand. It is the parish church of the Thorndon Catholic parish and the Cathedral of the Archbishop of Wellington. The New Zealand Parliament is a close neighbour of the Cathedral. However, the Thorndon Catholic parish predates that institution. The Cathedral is part of a Catholic precinct which includes St Mary's College; Sacred Heart Cathedral School; St Mary's Convent, the motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy in Wellington; the Catholic Centre, in which Catholic administration is located; and Viard House, which is both the Cathedral parish presbytery and the residence of the Archbishop.
  The church was popularly known as "the Basilica", because of its palladian architectural style. It was designated as the Cathedral of Wellington in 1984 after earthquake strengthening and the addition of the Blessed Sacrament chapel, foyer, sacristy, courtyard, hall and piazza.
context_section_description: The Cathedral choir plays a prominent role in liturgical ceremonies in the Cathedral. Its role in two important state funerals and an episcopal anniversary was of particular note.
  Sir Joseph Ward, the 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand, died in July 1930. Ward had prayed daily in the Basilica (or its predecessor, St Mary's Cathedral – see below) for all of his thirty-seven years as a member of the New Zealand Parliament. The Requiem Mass was celebrated on 9 July by Bishop O'Shea (then Coadjutor Archbishop of Wellington), and Archbishop Redwood, the 1st Archbishop of Wellington, delivered the panagyric. In the words of The New Zealand Herald, "unbent beneath the weight of his 91 years ... in his scarlet vestment, [Archbishop Redwood] was a commanding and impressive figure." After the Mass, Ward's casket lay in the Basilica where a steady stream of people came and went during the day. It was then transferred across the road to Parliament Buildings by his colleagues and family before being transported to Bluff where the interment took place.
  Michael Joseph Savage, the 23rd, and 1st Labour, Prime Minister of New Zealand, died on 27 March 1940. His funeral gave the Cathedral choir a chance to achieve national recognition, as it was broadcast nationally. The organist was Miss Josephine Mulligan whose contributions included Frédéric Chopin's Marche Funebre at the commencement. The choir consisted of male voices conducted by Rev Father FH Walsh. The Dominion thought that "it was appropriate because of the interest of the late Prime Minister in young people that boys figured largely in the singing of the Mass" which was entirely sung in plain song. The crowd was so great in the church – even the organist needed an official invitation – that the boys in the choir were forced to sing from the chancel galleries high above the altar. The solemn requiem was celebrated by Archbishop O'Shea who in his sermon preached that Savage's life "was a rebuke to all who would seek to advance their interests, whether personal or class, at the expense of social amity and concord" and that Savage would "not leave a single enemy among decent men." Savage's remains were transported to Auckland in a rail journey much interrupted by crowds of mourners along the way. After resting briefly in St Patrick's Cathedral, he was buried at Bastion Point (where the Savage Memorial was eventually constructed).
  Another great choir occasion occurred earlier, in 1934, for the 60th episcopal anniversary of Archbishop Redwood himself, when "the special music of the Mass was rendered by the Basilica choir of fifty voices under the conductorship of Miss Eileen Dennehy. Miss Josephine Mulligan was at the organ. The music of the Mass was as follows: 'Ecce Sacerdos' (Elgar), Edouard Silas' Mass in C, 'O Sacrum Convivium', and 'Jubilate Deo' ... the plain song was sung by the male voices of the choir, under the baton of Rev. Father Feehly."
caption: Interior (c. 1901); showing the pre-Vatican II ordering
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