Queenie Roestenburg's two daughters, Waireti and Michelle, were former students of Sacred Heart Convent in the 1970s.
But Christmas Eve was the first time Mrs Roestenburg had been inside the Sacred Heart Chapel when she attended a carol service put on by the Ingestre Street Bible Church.
The carol service also marked the reopening of the chapel, which was closed in 2012 for refurbishment.
Now owned by Ryman Healthcare - the company that runs the Jane Winstone retirement village on St John's Hill - the chapel's refurbishment cost $1 million, which went towards an upgrade of facilities and earthquake-strengthening.
Work on the exterior of the chapel, which is situated within the retirement village, is still to be completed.