Mary pirouettes 180° during earthquake

During the February 22 Quake in Christchurch , a statue of the Virgin Mary in the South Tower of the Blessed Sacrament Cathedral was turned 180° in the violent motion. On May 22 she was carried full circle in procession around the damaged Basilica.(cf Front Cover)

She was accompanied by 200 people praying Rosaries, and singing Marian hymns. At the end of the march, a prayer was offered of Consecration to Mary, and for the  protection of the City.

It was no easy thing to rescue the statue from the building and the statue was slightly damaged in the process. It was expertly repaired by the Carmelites in the city. ”You wouldn’t know anything had happened to it,” remarked Bishop Barry.

The statue’s next home was still undecided but one possibility was St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral  on Manchester St as it had lost its own statue in the quake.

All major diocesan occasions will take place in the Pro-Cathedral until the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is restored or rebuilt.