The land on which St Mary of the Angels is sited has been continuously occupied by a Church since 1843. On 5 February 1843, Fr O'Reily celebrated Mass in a private house situated along the waterfront about where Woodward Street now meets Lambton Quay. About 100 worshippers attended. A meeting was called for the following Sunday to arrange for the construction of a small church. After some months the church was ready, sited practically on the site where St Mary of the Angels now stands. Over the 30 years of the existence of the first Church it was enlarged several times. And finally, in 1873, plans were drawn up for a much larger and more imposing edifice to meet the needs of the growing Parish. Over several days in late February 1874 the "Wellington Independent" newspaper gave a detailed description of the new "Te Aro Catholic Chapel" and the blessing of this new Church, called then for the first time after the famous shrine of the Franciscan world in Assisi "St Mary of the Angels". Fire destroyed the 1874 Church on 28 May 1918. Total insurance was £2525. On the Sunday following the fire, that occurred during the second year of Fr Mahony as Parish Priest a meeting was called to discuss rebuilding and immediately over £4000 was given or promised. By October a further £4000 had been raised and in April 1919 the contract was let for £27,500 for the new Church - which is the Church that still stands on the site today.