The Friends of St Mary of the Angels Charitable Trust grew out of the merger and consolidation of several fund raising organisations within the Parish of St Mary of the Angels in the late 1990's.

On May 19, 1986 the Foundation for the Restoration and Preservation of St Mary of the Angels Trust was officially incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957. Its sole objective was to raise funds necessary for the restoration and preservation of the historic St Mary of the Angels Church.

In 1988 the first stage of restoration of the Church was completed when the exterior of the Church was painted and a new copper roof replaced the slate roof. Later, in the early 1990's, it was decided to proceed with the restoration of the interior of the Church. Further fund raising was initiated by the Foundation to cover this cost.

About the time that the restoration programme for the interior of the Church was developing, another less structured society was formed - The Friends of St Mary of the Angels. This was formed by a group of parishioners to "provide financial support to the Marist Community and the Parish of St Mary of the Angels" throughout the interior restoration. As far as can be ascertained there appeared to be no formal structure to the society and there was no application made for it to be registered as an Incorporated Society or as a Charitable Trust. The Friends Society kept a roll of names of those making donations and bequests and an annual Mass was celebrated and a get together held for donors.

In 1999 it was resolved that the funds held in the name of the "Friends" be amalgamated with the balance of the moneys held in the name of the Foundation for the Restoration and Preservation of St Mary of the Angels. At that time is was also decided to incorporate the St Mary of the Angels Protection Society Incorporated, which was in "recess" after ensuring that the Church was restored to its original condition as opposed to "modernisation" of the interior which was advocated by a number of people. Any funds this Society had were also incorporated into the new structure.

After approval was received from the Archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal Thomas Williams, for the amalgamation proposals to go ahead a new constitution was prepared and application made for registration. On May 19, 2001, the Friends of St Mary of the Angels Charitable Trust was approved by the Registrar of Incorporated Societies.

Under the new constitution seven trustees were appointed and comprised the Parish Priest of St Mary of the Angels, the Archbishop of Wellington or his nominee, three nominees by the Finance Committee of St Mary of the Angels Parish and two nominees by the Parish Priest.

The new constitution gave prime consideration to the restoration and maintenance of the St Mary of the Angels Church but also now included maintenance and development of the grounds and presbytery within the Parish.

In 2004 the constitution was revised to reflect changes in the requirements deemed necessary for the ongoing functioning of the Friends' Trust. Major project that year was the commencement, in conjunction with the Wellington City Council, to develop the grounds as a "green space" in central Wellington for the benefit of not only parishioners but all Wellingtonians and visitors to the city CBD.

In 2007 under new laws governing charitable organisations in New Zealand any charity raising money from the public was required to apply to the newly formed Charities Commission for official registration. The Friends of St Mary of the Angels Charitable Trust applied, met all requirements and received approval on March 19, 2008. The Trust's official registration number is CC21962. Registration enables New Zealand citizen donors to the Trust to apply for a New Zealand tax rebate, if eligible, on their donation

In 2009 the Trust again revised its constitution to reflect the creation of a Reserve Fund as part of its financial portfolio. The Reserve Fund enables donors, if they specify when donating, that the donation they make goes directly to this Fund where the principal is invested and only the interest received from such donations is used to support any projects we assist in financing-primarily the ongoing restoration and maintenance of our New Zealand Historic Places Trust Category One historic Church-within the Parish of St. Mary of the Angels, This change to our constitution has been approved by the Charities Commission.