St Peter's Cathedral, Belfast

Saint Peter's Cathedral, Belfast (Irish: Ard Eaglais Naomh Peadar, IPA: [ˈaːɾˠd̪ˠ ˌaɡlˠəʃ n̪ˠiːw ˈpʲad̪ˠəɾˠ]), is the Catholic cathedral church for the Diocese of Down and Connor, and is therefore the episcopal seat of the Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor. It is located in the Divis Street area of the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 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 cathedral of the Diocese of Down and Connor had been at Downpatrick. 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. 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, 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 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 installed, and a baptismal font by the same artist placed near the narthex 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 on Holy Thursday. Past administrators From St Peter's Cathedral website 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