Greetings from St Bede’s College.

As we draw nearer to the opening of the new Chapel of St Bede, I wanted to share with you how the project has progressed and what will take place in the coming weeks before it is opened on Thursday 12 September 2019.

Over the last four months the Chapel exterior brick cladding and plastering around the feature windows have progressed and the building is now enclosed.

In the interior, the fibrous plastering to the walls has been completed and internal brick work is underway. The interior fit-out is well progressed with old pews having been refurbished, along with the repair of the reredos from the old Chapel which is a very ornate piece of oak woodwork. Other historical chapel items are also being refurbished to re-use in the new chapel.

The twelve large ornate stained glass windows salvaged from the old Chapel have been extensively refurbished and are being installed inside the main Chapel windows as features.

The organ, which was salvaged from the St Joseph’s Papanui Parish, is currently being installed in the chapel and will be quite a feature with the organ pipes displayed along the south wall.

A new altar has been designed and built and will incorporate the old oak carving of St Bede known as the ‘Last Chapter’ in the front of the altar.

The Chapel is scheduled for completion at the end of August 2019 and all Naylor Love finishing trades are working hard to deliver this iconic building to the College.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to share with you our new Chapel campaign video, which you’ll see below. This is an exciting time as together we have come this far. Your support of St Bede’s College and our commitment to the special character of our school that helps to form students into great young men are driving factors in us undertaking this special project. We only have a matter of weeks until the Chapel opens, and as our current parent family, I wanted to extend you the opportunity of helping us complete the project by making a contribution, whether individually, or as a legacy for your family. As part of that we have built a comprehensive package of opportunities to acknowledge contributors and connect them with the Chapel. This is your chance to a real and lasting impact on current and future Bedeans. 

Until next week,

J.G. Boyle