St. Mary's, Inverness is a Roman Catholic church in the city of

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populatio ...

, in

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 ...

and is a part of the

Diocese of Aberdeen Diocese of Aberdeen was one of the 13 (14, after 1633) dioceses of the Scottish church, before the abolition of the episcopacy in 1689. Early history A see was founded in 1063 at Mortlach, Scotland, Mortlach by Blessed Beyn. The earliest ment ...

. The building is significant for the high quality of its

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 paga ...

and

stained glass windows Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

. There is daily mass in the church and it also the home of the Polish Chaplaincy for Inverness.

History

The church was opened on 2 April 1837. Earlier Catholics had worshipped on Margaret Street, with the Mission separated from Eskdale in 1827, and it was known to the town "as a place where

Lord Lovat Lord Lovat ( gd, Mac Shimidh) is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser, 1st Lord Lovat, Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, altho ...

and the tinkers worshipped". There were said to be about 400 Catholics in Inverness in 1846. The presbytery was built at a cost of £1,200 in 1888 due to the benevolence of Miss Jessie McDonell. On 22 August 1894 a solemn re-opening of the church took place as the sanctuary had been remodelled to accommodate 250 extra worshippers and an altar designed by

Peter Paul Pugin Peter Paul Pugin (1851 – March 1904) was an English architect. He was the son of Augustus Pugin by his third wife, Jane Knill, and the half-brother of architect and designer Edward Welby Pugin. Life and career Peter Paul Pugin was only a ...

built by Carruthers of Inverness as well as

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

. The sanctuary was remodelled with a new altar and tiles in order to conform with changes in liturgy heralded by 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) ...

in 2014. A school was built in 1845 staffed by Franciscan nuns at first, but the building was replaced in 1943.

Interior

File:St Mary's Inverness 2.jpg

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inverness, Saint Mary

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area) Gothic Revival church buildings in Scotland 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic churches completed in 1837