St Peter's Cathedral, Belfast
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Saint Peter's Cathedral, Belfast (, ), is the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
cathedral church for the Diocese of Down and Connor, and is therefore the episcopal seat of the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Bishop of Down and Connor The Bishop of Down and Connor () is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Downpatrick (located in County Down) and the village of Connor (located in County Antrim) in Northern Ireland. The title is still used by the Catholic C ...
. It is located in the Divis Street area of the Falls Road in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, and construction began in the 1860s. There are three choirs: the Cathedral Choir, the Down & Connor Schola Cantorum (Boys’ Choir) and the Cathedral Girls’ Choir. The decision to designate St Peter's as the diocesan cathedral was taken by Bishop Cahal Daly who celebrated the Mass on 29 June 1986 at which the building was formally designated as the cathedral church of Down and Connor. It is a Grade A listed building.


History

Until the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
the cathedral of the Diocese of Down and Connor had been at
Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Down Cathedral, Its cathedral is sai ...
. However, at the beginning of the 19th century, Belfast was a growing town; and with the appointment of William Crolly in 1825, the episcopal seat moved there. St Peter's was originally envisaged as the parish church for the expanding post-Famine Catholic population of Belfast. The site was provided by a wealthy Belfast flour merchant and philanthropist, Bernard Hughes while the church was designed by Fr Jeremiah Ryan McAuley, who had trained as an architect before he became a priest.


The Building

St. Peter's is mostly built of gray Scrabo sandstone: entrance is by five doorways, two of which are porch entrances. The main entrance, a double doorway, has a sculptured spandril above it showing the
Liberation of Peter The liberation of the apostle Peter is an event described in chapter 12 of the Acts of the Apostles, in which the apostle Peter is rescued from prison by an angel. Although described in a short textual passage, the tale has given rise to theolog ...
. Internally there is an arcade of seven arches separating the aisle from the nave. The eighth arch was originally in the sanctuary. The building was opened on 14 October 1866 while the signature twin spires were added in 1886. There is a hammer-beam ceiling with strong and vibrant colours used throughout, a reminder of the building's original appearance. It was built on a scale and with a level of high quality interior decoration that it became known as a
pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...
, or temporary cathedral, for the diocese. In that regard it was an honour shared with St Patrick's Church, Belfast, in Donegall St where, for example, Bishop Patrick Dorrian was buried in 1885 and where, in 1929, Bishop Daniel Mageean was consecrated bishop. It is the burial place - in the Chapel of the Resurrection on the North side - of three former bishops - William Philbin, Patrick Walsh and Noel Treanor. The window here depicts the Easter morning encounter between Christ and
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
and is the work of Roisin Murphy-O'Dowd.


Refurbishments

There were several extensive refurbishments in 1950 when Padraic Gregory enlarged the original porches of the north and south elevations, creating new side chapels and adding a new high altar and a marble baldacchino. In the 1960s the altar was relocated while in 1986, under the direction of the Irish artist Ray Carroll, there was more refurbishment and a new wooden episcopal chair as part of a screen which obstructed the original canon's choir stalls. In 2003–2005 while Patrick Walsh was bishop much of the latter work was undone. This more recent refurbishment saw a new limestone altar and ambo, carved by Ken Thompson from
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
installed, and a
baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...
by the same artist placed near the
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
to underscore that sacrament as one of initiation. The font is inscribed "Unus Dominus, una fide, unum baptisma" (Eph 4:5). One respected critic said of this most recent renovation "This most recent work has restored the Cathedral much nearer to its original appearance, especially in the use of strong and vibrant colours, on the fine hammer-beam ceiling."


Liturgy in the cathedral

Mass is celebrated every day in the cathedral: * Sunday Masses are: Vigil (Saturday) 5.30 pm; 9 am and 11 am (Solemn Mass). * Weekday Masses are at 10 am, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 7.30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other sacraments and liturgies: * Confessions are at 10.30 am and 5 pm on Saturdays. * Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place each Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am - 7 pm. * Baptisms take place on Saturdays at 1 pm. * As the diocesan Cathedral, St Peter's hosts major celebrations in the local Church calendar such as the
Chrism Mass The Chrism Mass is a religious service held in certain Christian denominations, such as Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. It is usually celebrated each year on Maundy Thursday or on another day of Holy Week. During the ceremony, th ...
on
Holy Thursday Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...
.


Past administrators

From St Peter's Cathedral websiteHistory
St Peter's Cathedral website. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
unless otherwise stated: *Fr William Blaney VG: 1866–1873 *Fr Andrew McAuley: 1873–1882 *Fr Patrick Convery: 1882–1895 *Fr John McCartan: 1895–1898 *Fr John Tohill: 1898–1905 *Fr Bernard Laverty: 1905–1911 *Fr John Healy: 1911–1919 *Fr Thomas McDonald: 1919–1928 *Fr William Patrick Lagan: March 1928 *Fr Alexander McAteer: 1929–1930 *Fr George McKillop: 1930–1938 - died in office 31st October 1938 *Fr John McLaverty: 1938–194 *Fr George Watson: 1943–1945 *Fr Leo McKeown: 1945–1949 *Fr Laurence Higgins: 1949–1955 *Fr Patrick McAtamney: 1955–1960 *Fr Joseph McConville: 1960–1963 *Fr James McCloskey: 1963–1966 *Fr Sean O’Neill: 1966–1967 *Canon Padraig Murphy: 1967–1971 *Fr Francis Teggart: 1971–1974 *Fr Alexander Darragh: 1974–1978 *Fr Vincent McKinley: 1978–1983 *Fr Joseph McGurnaghan: 1983–1986 *Fr Sean Connolly: 1986–1990 *Fr Anthony Alexander: 1990–1994 *Monsignor Thomas Toner: 1994–2006 *Fr Hugh Kennedy: 2006–2016 *Fr Martin Graham: 2016 –


Bibliography

* Peter Galloway, ''The Cathedrals of Ireland'', The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, (1992).


References


External links


A picture of the cathedral.

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belfast, Saint Peter Roman Catholic cathedrals in Northern Ireland Churches in Belfast
Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor Grade A listed buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in Northern Ireland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1866 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom 19th-century churches in Northern Ireland