The Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Good Aid, popularly known as Motherwell Cathedral, 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

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is the

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of the

Bishop of Motherwell The Bishop of Motherwell is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell in the Province of Glasgow, Scotland. The diocese covers an area of . The Episcopal see, see is in the town of Motherwell, Scotland, ...

, and

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...

of the

Diocese of Motherwell The Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell ( la, Dioecesis Matrisfontis, links=no) is an ecclesiastical diocese of the Catholic Church in Scotland. The diocese, which was erected on 25 May 1947 by Pope Pius XII from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, a ...

History

The Church of Our Lady of Good Aid, Motherwell was opened on Monday 9 December 1900. In 1948, the church was elevated to the status of cathedral after the new Motherwell Diocese was erected as a

suffragan see A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, ...

by the apostolic constitution ''Maxime interest''. The Scottish

Catholic Directory Catholic Directories are various publications and reference works about or produced for the Catholic Church. Early history The earliest English attempt at anything of the sort seems to have been a little ''Catholic Almanac'', which appeared for ...

of 1901 includes in the list of events for the year 1899-1900 the "Opening of the Church of Our Lady of Good Aid, Motherwell" on Monday 9 December 1900, the

feast of the Immaculate Conception The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, also called Immaculate Conception Day, celebrates the sinless lifespan and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, celebrate ...

transferred from Sunday. It includes a description of the church's dimensions and principal architectural features.

Music

Motherwell Cathedral's

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was renovated in 2008, and is noted for its size. It was electronically modified with a new console installed. With four manuals it is the largest organ of any Roman Catholic church in the West of Scotland. The cathedral organist is John Pitcathely, who played the organ at both of the Papal visits to Scotland. The Motherwell Diocesan Choir sings at many of the major services in the cathedral and also sings at the 5.30pm vigil

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

on Saturdays. The Motherwell Diocesan Choir, which is distinct from the Cathedral Choir, is directed by John Pitcathely.

Architecture

The cathedral was designed in the

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style by the celebrated architects Pugin and Pugin and resembles many Catholic churches designed by them in Scotland,

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and

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. The church originally had a

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

and two side altars. However, these and much of the ornate decoration were lost in the re-ordering of the sanctuary in 1984 in accordance with the reforms of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

Services

Saturday vigil 5.30pm Sunday 10.30am, 6.30pm Monday - Saturday 10.00am

Clergy

List of parish priests of the Parish Church of Our Lady of Good Aid * Rev. James Gilmour 1875-1877 * Rev. James Glancey D.D. 1877-1888 * Very Rev. John Canon Taylor 1888-1917 * Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas Canon Currie 1917-1935 * Rev. Bartholomew Atkinson 1935-1946 * Very Rev. Denis Canon Flynn 1947-1956 List of deans of the Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Good Aid (Motherwell Cathedral) * Very Rev. Denis Canon Flynn 1947-1956 * Rt. Rev. Mgr. Gerard M. Rogers 1956-1960 * Rt. Rev. Mgr. John Conroy 1960-1981 * Very Rev. Noel Canon Carey 1981-2011 * Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas Canon Millar V.G. 2011–2017 * Rev. Gerard Chromy V.G. 2017-2022 * Rev. Brian Lamb 2022-''present'' The dean of the cathedral has also served as parish priest of St Luke's Church in Motherwell since the parishes were amalgamated in 2016.

References

External links

* {{Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the United Kingdom Religion in Motherwell Buildings and structures in Motherwell Roman Catholic cathedrals in Scotland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1900 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom 1900 establishments in Scotland