Cathedral of Christ the King () is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

located in

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeat ...

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

, Ireland. It is situated near the centre of Mullingar next to the

Royal Canal The Royal Canal ( ga, An Chanáil Ríoga) is a canal originally built for freight and passenger transportation from Dublin to Longford in Ireland. It is one of two canals from Dublin to the River Shannon and was built in direct competition ...

. The cathedral is both the cathedral church of the

Diocese of Meath The Diocese of Meath ( ga, Deoise na Mí) is an Irish diocese which took its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it still exists as a separate diocese, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other ...

and the principal centre of worship in the catholic parish of Mullingar, including parts of counties Meath and Westmeath.

Construction

Designed to replace the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (1836-1936), planning commenced in 1920. William Byrne & Sons of Dublin designed the cathedral to be basillican in form and

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

in style. Its distinctive twin towers, surmounted by bronze crosses, rise to a height of about 55 metres. It was built with a seating capacity of 5,000. Building began in March 1933 and the foundation stone was laid on 6 August of that year by Bishop Thomas Mulvany. Murphy of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

were the builders, while much of the artistic decoration work was completed by

Earley and Company Earley and Company (1861–1975) were ecclesiastical furnishings and stained glass manufacturers and retailers, based in Camden Street, Dublin, Camden Street, Dublin, Ireland. In the 19th century they also had an outlet at 51 Lower Clanbrassil S ...

Camden Street, Dublin Camden Street ( ga, Sráid Camden) is a street in Dublin 2. It links Ranelagh/Rathmines ( Dublin 6) to the southern city centre of Dublin. It is divided into Camden Street Upper (southern end) and Camden Street Lower (northern end). History The ...

, and Oppenheimer Ltd., of Old Trafford,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. The formal opening and dedication of the new cathedral took place on 6 September 1936. At the request of

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

, it became the first cathedral in the world to be dedicated to

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

. It was solemnly consecrated on 13 August 1939, though other sources state that the consecration occurred a few weeks later on . The total cost of the building, including decoration, was £275,000.

Mosaics

The works of art for which the cathedral is most noted are the mosaics in the chapels of

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

and

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

. These are the work of the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n born mosaic artist

Boris Anrep Boris Vasilyevich Anrep (russian: Борис Васильевич Анреп; 27 September 1883 – 7 June 1969) was a Russian artist, active in Britain, who devoted himself to the art of mosaic. In Britain, he is known for his monumental mosaic ...

, whose work may also be found in

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

. The Saint Patrick mosaic represents the saint lighting the

Paschal Paschal is used as a name. Paschal, a variant of Pascal, from Latin ''Paschalis'', is an adjective describing either the Easter or Passover holidays. People known as Paschal include: Popes and religious figures * Antipope Paschal (687), a riv ...

fire on the mount of

Slane Slane () is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 (Dublin to Monaghan road) and the N51 (Drogheda to Navan road). As of the 2016 census ...

. The principal figure is that of the saint in his apostolic mission, lifting the cross in a vigorous movement, in his other hand holding a torch. The firewood is arranged in a

Christogram A Christogram ( la, Monogramma Christi) is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbolism, religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldes ...

, signifying the symbolic importance of the fire. In the Saint Anne mosaic, the name is spelled "Anna". Saint Anne's image is also said to resemble the poet

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; uk, А́нна Андрі́ївна Горе́нко, Ánna Andríyivn ...

. The mosaic artist (Anrep) had an affair with Akhmatova during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He left Russia before the Bolsheviks seized power, and although he didn't contact her for 48 years, she remained the muse who haunted his imagination. While she has appeared in several of his mosaics, this one in Mullingar is the only to include her name. (In return, up to 34 of her poems are about him.)In "Ana Achmatova and Mullingar Connection" - broadcast on RTÉ 4 May 2008
the poet Joseph Woods recounts the story of the mosaics. Relevant section begins at timestamp 40’43".

Gallery

File:Christ the King Mullingar.jpg, View of the cathedral from Mary Street File:Interior of Cathedral of Christ the King (nave), Mullingar.jpg, Interior with nave from entrance File:Saint Anne mosaic Mullingar.JPG, Saint Anne Mosaic, Marian Year 1954, by Boris Anrep File:Main Alter Christ the King Mullingar.jpg, Above the main altar

References

External links

Official website for the diocese

(GCatholic.org)

- info from

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

{{coord, 53.5269, N, 7.34629, W, source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title 552 establishments Roman Catholic churches in County Westmeath Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland 6th-century establishments in Ireland Neoclassical church buildings in Ireland Renaissance Revival architecture