St. Aidan's Cathedral () is the

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 ...

church of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns 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 Roman civilization * Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter ...

. It is located in

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, in

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 ...

. The saint to whom the cathedral is dedicated is Máedóc of Ferns (feast day 31 January), also known as Áedan or Aidan, who died in 626, and not to be confused with St.

Aidan of Lindisfarne Aidan of Lindisfarne (; died 31 August 651) was an Irish monk and missionary credited with converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in Northumbria. He founded a ministry cathedral on the island of Lindisfarne, known as Lindisfarne Priory, ser ...

(feast day 31 August), an Irish missionary who died in 651.

History

With the completion of the old Cathedral in 1809, Enniscorthy becomes the Episcopal Centre of the Diocese of Ferns. Eventually, the building proved in need of repair and inadequate for the needs of the diocese. A new cathedral, designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, reputedly based on Tintern Abbey in Wales, was built in 1843. It was the largest church Pugin had designed in Ireland. It was constructed in dressed local stone, including stone salvaged from a nearby ruined Franciscan Friary. Notable features include the façade, a

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

carved from

Caen stone Caen stone () is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ...

and a great north window with intricate stone tracery. The cathedral was subsequently much renovated in line with reforms promulgated by the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. It was restored to its near original design in 1994 when authentic colours, materials and techniques were used to include painted arches, dark blue ceiling above white walls. The restoration took a year, during which time cathedral services were held at St Mary's church (

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 ...

) nearby. The cathedral is similar in structure to

St Mary's Cathedral, Killarney St. Mary's Cathedral, Killarney, is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Kerry situated to the west of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland. Architecture St. Mary's Cathedral was designed by the renowned English architect Augustus Welby Pugin ...

.''Irish churches and monasteries: an historical and architectural guide'' by Seán D. O'Reilly, 1997

Gallery

File:Enniscorthy St. Aidan's Cathedral Nave N 2009 09 28.jpg, Cathedral nave File:Enniscorthy St. Aidan's Cathedral East Aisle Second Window Evangelist John Detail 2009 09 28.jpg,

Stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how ...

File:Enniscorthy St. Aidan's Cathedral West Aisle Pieta 2009 09 28.jpg,

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

statue File:Enniscorthy St. Aidan's Cathedral East Aisle Fifth Window Saint Aidan Detail 2009 09 28.jpg, Stained Glass of St. Máedóc of Ferns (Aidan)

Notes

External links

Parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Aidan's Cathedral Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland Religious buildings and structures in County Wexford Gothic Revival church buildings in the Republic of Ireland Augustus Pugin buildings Enniscorthy 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1843 19th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland