The Cathedral Church of Saint Mirin in Paisley, dedicated to

Saint Mirin Saint Mirin was born in 565, is also known as Mirren of Benchor (now called Bangor), Merinus, Merryn and Meadhrán. The patron saint of the town and Roman Catholic diocese of Paisley, Scotland, he was the founder of a religious community which ...

the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Paisley, is the

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 metropo ...

of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Diocese of Paisley The Diocese of Paisley ( la, Dioecesis Pasletana) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Erected on 25 May 1947 from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, the diocese covers the historic county o ...

and is the seat of the

Bishop of Paisley The Bishop of Paisley is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Paisley in the Province of Glasgow, Scotland. The diocese covers an area of and is the smallest by area in Scotland. The see is in the town of Paisley where the bishop's seat is lo ...

History

The former

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St Mirin, it is situated in Incle Street, Paisley, at the junction with Glasgow Road and was completed in 1931 close to the site of the original church of the same name which dated from 1808. The original building was the first stone-built Roman Catholic church in post-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It was formally opened in a solemn mass in 1932 which was attended by the archbishops of Glasgow and Edinbugh and the bishop of Galloway along with various members of local clergy and parishioners. Also in attendance were the local provost Gault, magistrates and councillors who were joined by at least two thousand onlookers who lined the streets outside the newly opened church. Irish nationalist politician Joe Devlin MP also attended the solemn mass. The present building was raised to

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 denominatio ...

status in 1948 following the erection of the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

in 1947.

Fabric

The building is neo- Romanesque in style with a plain

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

exterior and an airy arched interior: its architect was Thomas Baird. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

is principally of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

. Excluding the chancel, the cathedral is in length and has a breadth of . The chancel itself is in width by in depth and is semi-octagonal in form. Of particular interest is the pulpit by

Gillespie, Kidd and Coia Gillespie, Kidd & Coia was a Scottish architectural firm famous for their application of modernism in churches and universities, as well as at St Peter's Seminary in Cardross. Though founded in 1927, they are best known for their work in the ...

, with a representation of the Sermon on the Mount sculpted in relief from blond

bearing the following inscriptions in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

from the Letter of Saint James: ''In mansuetudine suscipite insitum verbum quod potest salvare animas vestras'' (Receive humbly the word that has been placed within you which can save your souls) and ''Estote autem factores verbi et non auditores'' (Be doers of the word and not hearers only). Also of note are the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

Stations of the Cross designed by Kenneth King of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

which are painted on ceramic tiles. In the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

four colourful tripartite stained glass windows depict twelve

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

s each of whom bears a symbol drawn from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. Below them is a Latin inscription alluding to the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

: ''Panis Angelicus Fit Panis Hominum Dat Panis Coelicus Figuris Terminum''. In the former baptistry to the north side of the vestibule is a stained-glass window depicting

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

with children by Charles Baillie, while a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

to St John Ogilvie by Norman Galbraith can be found on the south side. The church, which is the largest in the

, can accommodate around 1300 worshippers. Opposite the cathedral, at the junction of Incle Street with Gauze Street and Glasgow Road, stands a bronze statue of St Mirin by Norman Galbraith which was completed and unveiled in odifications to the main entrance, porch and frontage of the cathedral were completed.

Clergy

Customarily a cathedral, as the seat of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

, has him as its nominal

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

. However, to oversee the running of the cathedral and its

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

there is an administrator, currently

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Joseph Burke.

Diamond Jubilee

On 15 September 2008, the feast day of its

, the Diocese of Paisley celebrated its

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniver ...

. To mark the occasion a

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 eleme ...

concelebrated by the

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

Faustino Sainz Muñoz Faustino Sainz Muñoz (5 June 1937 – 31 October 2012) was a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Nuncio to Great Britain from 2004 until December 2010, having been appointed by Pope John Paul II in 2004. Career Bor ...

, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the

Archbishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of ...

Mario Conti, the Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Devine, the

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nec ...

Peter Moran, the

Bishop of Galloway The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, was the eccesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7th ...

John Cunningham, the Emeritus Bishop of Paisley John Mone, the Bishop of Paisley

Philip Tartaglia Filippo "Philip" Tartaglia (11 January 1951 – 13 January 2021) was a Scottish prelate who served as a bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Glasgow from 2012 until 2021. He previously served as Bishop of Paisl ...

and many priests of the diocese took place in the cathedral. Present at the Mass were a large number of civic dignitaries and representatives of other churches in Paisley. Representing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II were the

Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire The Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire is the representative of the British Crown covering a lieutenancy area of the county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The Lord Lieutenant deals with many of the ceremonial functions a ...

Guy Clark, and his deputy, James Wardrop.

Services

Holy Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

: Sunday: 4pm (Saturday vigil) 8:00am, 10:00am, 12:00pm, 2.30pm (Polish) Monday - Friday: 10:00am, 1:00pm (Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri), 6pm (Wednesday) Saturday - 10:00am

Holy Days of Obligation In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation are days on which the faithful are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation (id est, they are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed t ...

: Vigil 7:00pm, 8:00am, 10:00am, 1:00pm, 7:00pm Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation: Saturday: 10:30am–11:00am; Wednesday: 5pm-5.45pm Morning Prayer Of The Church: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 9:45am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: Monday - Saturday 10:30am–12:50pm

References

External links

* {{Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic cathedrals in Scotland Churches in Paisley, Renfrewshire 1931 establishments in Scotland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1931 Listed churches in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Renfrewshire