S is for St. Gerards: a monastery floating above Oriental Bay, Wellington

St Gerard's Church and Monastery, on the cliff above Oriental Bay in Wellington

We had a glimpse of the unique lifestyle of the monastery and the church that looms from it's cliffside over Oriental Bay - St Gerard's built in 1908 for the Redemptorists, who first arrived in New Zealand in 1883 and required a base from which they could travel and inspire Catholics to find a deeper faith.

I rang the bell and one of the priests, who hails from India, came to the door and was happy to show us around the historic building. We went into the church with its fine stained glass windows, into the residential side of the building which houses about 20 people, missionaries, priests and monks, sat quietly in their private chapel and popped into the library.
Its an old building, careworn and sparse but dignified, fiercely cold in winter, with a library that must have one of the best settings in town with its bay window and the views across Wellington.

A visit to St. Gerard's, a Wellington landmark.