Parish priest Kerry Prendeville said the old church had been too small, unhealthily damp in winter and unsuitable for tangi due to its long, narrow shape. The piles had been "dodgy" and the roof had needed replacing.
The new church, the hub for the Moerewa/Kawakawa, Paihia and Russell parishes, had been built entirely by local contractors, which had helped keep the cost down.
"We wanted to invest in something that people would be proud of, and show we believe that Moerewa has a future," Father Prendeville said.
Some features of the old church had been re-used, but the windows - St Therese in stained glass above the door and a frosted glass triptych above the altar combining Christian and Maori motifs, such as the eels that are symbolic of Moerewa - had been made especially by St John the Baptist Studio in Auckland.
The old church had been sold and would be transported to Motukiore, in the Hokianga.
The original plan, decided on about 15 years ago, had been not to build but to move two unused Catholic churches, from Towai and Kawakawa, on to the site and somehow combine all three. That was eventually found to be impractical, as well as the old Moerewa church having too many building faults, and the other churches were sold, with Kawakawa's ending up near Russell and Towai's going to Waiheke Island.
Both were to be restored for use as wedding venues.
