St. Peter's Cathedral (Belfast)
St. Peter's Cathedral, Belfast ( Irish : Ard Eaglais Naomh Peadar ) is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor in Northern Ireland and the seat of their bishop . It is located in the urban area Divis Street in the Falls Road in Belfast and was built in the 1860s. This is where the St Peters Schola Cantorum choir comes from . The cathedral is rated A (Grade A) on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest and is a listed building.
history
During the 19th century, thousands of Catholic workers came to Belfast in search of employment in the growing industries, particularly the linen industry. Many of them settled in the Pound Loney and Falls Road area. The Catholic center of Belfast at that time was St. Mary's Church in Chapel Lane near the old city center. However, the church did not offer enough space for the rapidly growing number of believers, so that they sometimes had to follow the Sunday service from the street. In order to enable the new believers to attend the service, the leading Catholic lay preacher and wealthy bakery chain operator Barney Hughes bought a piece of land between Dystart Street, Derby Street and Alexander Street in 1858 and signed it over to Bishop Denvier on December 2, 1858. In July 1859, public collection of donations to finance the construction of a Catholic cathedral was called for. That way, by January 1861, £ 2,367 had been raised and construction could begin.
Architects
Two architects were commissioned to plan the cathedral. Jeremiah McAuley, a local priest who had already worked as an architect before his ordination in 1858, drew the plans. Construction began in 1860, but in 1862 McAuley left the city and moved to the Irish College in Salamanca ( Spain ). John O'Neill was his successor. He also designed the rectory at the rear of the building. The cathedral was almost completed in 1866 under O'Neill's direction.
Consecration
The new church was consecrated in a solemn ceremony on Sunday October 14, 1866 by the bishops of Dublin and Birmingham . Despite the bloody riots and violent rioting by Irish separatists in August 1864, the ceremony was attended by large numbers of Protestants and a fundraising campaign raised £ 2,260. The press reported extensively on the event. The liberal daily The Northern Whig wrote about St. Peter on Monday, October 15, 1866: “In point of beauty and space there is no place of worship in Belfast comparable to it.” The pro-British daily The Belfast Newsletter praised it the "beautiful Gothic structure". For lack of money, McAuley's ambitious plan could not be completed in 1866. The double tower facade, one of the most striking structural elements of St. Peter, was not completed until 1885. Until then, the towers were covered with an emergency roof.
architecture
St. Peter was the first Catholic religious building in Belfast to be built in the neo-Gothic style. Erected in a prominent place, the cathedral is clearly visible from the south and west when entering the city. Its most impressive features are the twin towers, five entrances, two covered entrances and, above the main entrance, a sculpture depicting the release of Saint Peter from prison. The cathedral is 54.8 m long and 21.3 m wide. The two west towers were initially only built at a height of 18.2 m due to lack of money. They were roofed over and provided with a decorative railing. Today's pointed spiers were completed in 1885 under the direction of the architect Mortimer Thompson. An ensemble of ten bells was installed at the same time. The gallery, which initially housed a harmonium, was replaced by a church organ in 1883. The total cost to build the cathedral, organ and bells was £ 35,900.
No changes were made to St. Peter from the 1880s until the end of World War II. At the end of the 1940s, the side entrances were expanded and a small chapel and a baptistery were added. The chancel was rearranged and a new high altar was installed.
Facility
The cathedral was built from Scrabo sandstone from Scottish quarries. It is a three-aisled basilica without a transept. The nave comprises seven yokes . The one-bay choir opens into an apse . The side aisles have six stained glass windows each, the upper aisle eight. In the apse there are five picture windows with geometric tracery . The aisles are provided with simple mosaic floors. The supports of their monopitch roofs are made in openwork.
The side aisles end in small chapels on either side of the apse. The chapel of the Virgin Mary on the south side is decorated with a mosaic and a white marble altar, which rests on a black marble plinth. The sacrament chapel is on the north side .
The original high altar had a 10 m high canopy made of Caen stone resting on six columns , with a cross at its top. The high altar and canopy were removed and today the bishop's cathedra is in the center of the apse. It is flanked by the sediles of the auxiliary bishops and the choir stalls of the cathedral chapter .
modification
After his installation as Bishop of Down and Connor in 1982, Cahal Daly announced his intention to elevate St. Peter to Down and Connor Cathedral. After receiving approval from the Vatican, the renovation work described above was carried out. In particular, the altar area was expanded by removing seven rows of seats. The changes in the interior were planned by Raymond Carrol and the architect Laurence McConville. The new altar, cathedra , pulpit and holy water font were made of mahogany . After completion of the renovation work, St. Peter was formally declared a cathedral church on June 29, 1986. Further interior renovations were carried out in 2004 and 2005 and all interior elements designed by Ray Carroll were removed.
Surname
Although the church was never declared a cathedral in official documents, St. Peter was known long before it was officially renamed and rededicated as a cathedral. However, all the ceremonies reserved for a cathedral have long been held here. On June 29, 1986, the church was given the official title "Cathedral" and became the seat of the Bishop of Down and Connor. The dedication ceremony for the cathedral took place in 1888.
today
The cathedral is currently looked after by two priests, Hugh Kennedy (Cathedral Administration) and Stephen Quinn.
literature
- Peter Galloway, The Cathedrals of Ireland , The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, (1992).
Individual evidence
Web links
Coordinates: 54 ° 35 ′ 56.4 " N , 5 ° 56 ′ 39.8" W.