A fascinating lecture

Went this morning to visit the Rose Historic Chapel,  just round the corner from the family here.   The Chapel was designed by A W N Pugin, the celebrated Victorian architect, for the Sisters of Mercy who had come to Christchurch from Ireland to set up a community in 1894.   When the sisters left the convent in 1993, the chapel fell slowly into disrepair. It was eventually purchased and restored by the City Council and opened as a heritage centre in 2000.   Sadly, the 2011 earthquake caused havoc to the building - particularly to the invaluable Pugin windows.   The chapel was fenced off for four years with its future uncertain.   Eventually, the Council restored the building with a significant structural and seismic upgrade.   

The lecture was about the women leaders, and the women saints depicted in the Stained Glass.   Only one man - St Patrick - as a token reminder of the Order's Irish roots.