This Catholic church was located on Brooklands Road, adjacent to St. Pius School.
The property on which the church and the school stand was bought by the Wellington Diocese in October 1946.
In the early 1960s a decision was made to build a church for the local Catholic community. A novel savings scheme fast tracked the construction. Over £40,000 was raised by way of the Brooklands Savings Scheme, set up and run by parishioners. Once the plans, drawn by John Bowering, were approved, the £20,000 tender from Jones & Sandford was accepted.
Bishop P. Sneddon laid the foundation stone on 11 November 1962. The church was opened and blessed by Parish Archbishop McKeefery on 1 September 1963.
The church celebrated its 50th anniversary in September 2013.
A fire on 6 January 2014 badly damaged St Philomena's and it has since been demolished.
In November 2015 a woman accused of burning down the church had the charge dismissed by Judge Max Courtney in the New Plymouth District Court. The police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the fire.
Related documents:
Artist's impression of new church (New Plymouth Photo News 1 September 1962 #77)
New Catholic Church at Brooklands (New Plymouth Photo News 31 August 1963)
Dramatic simplicity (Taranaki Herald 31 August 1963)
New Catholic Church Opened at Brooklands - pages 4 and 5 (New Plymouth Photo News 28 September 1963 #90)
Woman Arrested after Fire (Taranaki Daily News 8 January 2014)
Costly fires lead to separate arson charges (Taranaki Daily News 5 February 2014)
Demolition for fire damaged church (Taranaki Daily News 19 May 2014)
Church gone, memories linger (Taranaki Daily News 8 July 2014)
School's hall rises up from out of the ashes (Taranaki Daily News 27 February 2017)
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