St Patrick’s Cathedral

St Patrick’s is the mother Church of the Catholic diocese of Auckland and dates back to the 1840’s. It is a simple but attractive Gothic structure that sits in a paved square, in down-​town Auckland. The nave of the Church is adorned with rows of wooden pews with beautifully carved endings, stained glass window panels, chandeliers in the shape of a crown and a stunning timber crossing roof. The Church also comprises of several transepts and an ornate wooden choir loft.
St Patrick’s is yet another Auckland Church that is used for classical music concerts. I recently attended the Back-​to-​Back Bach, Age of Discovery concert organized by James Tibbles. He is the Cathedral’s organist and Senior Lecturer in Early Music at Auckland University. Something beautiful tends to happen when James plays on the Liston Memorial organ at St Pat’s!
Did I mention that the Age of Discovery concerts are free?! That alone warrants a five star rating — I guess?! I’m giving St Pat’s 4 stars on this occasion though, because I felt that the acoustics were not as effective as when the Cathedral packs a full-​house. I’m no expert though…