Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford, or more formally, the Cathedral of The Holy Trinity, Christ Church, is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

City,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Waterford, it is now one of six cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory.

Ecclesiastical history

The first church on the site was built in the 11th century. In 1170 it was the venue for the marriage of

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke Richard de Clare (c. 1130 – 20 April 1176), the second Earl of Pembroke, also Lord of Leinster and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Justiciar of Ireland (sometimes known as Richard FitzGilbert), was an Anglo-Norman nobleman notable for his leadi ...

("Strongbow"), and Aoife Ní Diarmait. This was replaced in 1210 by a Gothic Cathedral. Since Christ Church Cathedral was subject to the Protestant Reformation,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

adherents were consequently obliged to worship elsewhere. In the 18th century, the city corporation recommended that the bishop erect a new building. The architect was

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a Moderate conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...

, who was responsible also for the Catholic cathedral and for much of Georgian Waterford. During the demolition of the old cathedral, a series of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

vestment Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...

s were discovered in 1773. They were presented by the then

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop, the Rt Revd Richard Chenevix, to his Roman Catholic counterpart, the Most Revd Peter Creagh, and are now kept in the Museum of Treasures in Waterford and the National Museum in Dublin. The present building has been described by architectural historian Mark Girouard as the finest 18th century ecclesiastical building in Ireland.

Burials

* Michael Boyle (the elder), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore (1619–1635)

References

{{Cathedrals of the Church of Ireland

Diocese of Cashel and Ossory Churches in Waterford (city) Tourist attractions in Waterford (city) Neoclassical church buildings in Ireland

Ecclesiastical history

Burials

See also

References