St Joseph's Church, Darfield
St Joseph's Church, Darfield is a Roman Catholic church located in Darfield, New Zealand. It is one of five churches in the Christchurch Diocese with its own choir loft, the others being: St Bede's College Chapel, St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, St Teresa of Lisieux and Sacred Heart Basilica, Timaru.
History
In 1861, the Reverend Father John Chevier was placed in charge of the areas between the Rangitata and Hurunui Rivers. From 1878, Father Chevier would celebrate Mass once in every three months in the Malvern region, in either road board offices or at Greendale Primary School. The first wooden church was opened on 31 October 1880 debt-free, on land donated by Mr. Maxwell of Racecourse Hill. In 1888, Darfield was made into its own parish, with the Reverend Father J.J. O'Donnell serving as its first parish priest. Father O'Donnell oversaw the construction of the presbytery in September 1889 and extensions to the wooden church.In 1894, the Reverend Father Chastagnan was made parish priest. It was during his time here as parish priest that Peter Clinton donated two acres of land, which included a brick cottage and the construction of a school, named St John's School. These both opened in 1899. Both of these original buildings are now privately dwellings. The Sisters of Mercy of Colombo Street, Christchurch were put in charge of the convent and school. Following declining rolls in the latter-half of the 20th century, the convent and school closed in the 1980s.
In 1934, the Reverend Father John McMonagle was appointed parish priest. It was at this time that the original church building was destroyed by fire in April of the same year. The current church was built by J & W Jamieson Ltd, in the art deco style. It is made of poured concrete with a plaster-finish and Oamaru Stone window surrounds. The foundation stone was blessed on 11 October 1936 by Bishop Matthew Brodie and dedicated to Saint Joseph.
In 2017, the church was repainted from its distinctive and often-mocked light-blue to its new colours of 'Double Dolphin Grey' and 'Oil Stone'.
On Pentecost 2020, St Joseph's was amalgamated with Lincoln and Leeston again, with the formation of the Selwyn Parish, having been a part of the Hornby – Darfield parish since 2013.