St. Peter's Cathedral, Belfast
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Saint Peter's Cathedral, Belfast ( ga, Ard Eaglais Naomh Peadar, ), is the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
cathedral church for the
Diocese of Down and Connor The Diocese of Down and Connor, ( ga, Deoise an Dúin agus Chonaire) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the me ...
, and is therefore the episcopal seat of the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
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 Chur ...
. It is located in the Divis Street area of the Falls Road in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, and construction began in the 1860s. There are two choirs: the Cathedral Choir sings at the Vigil Mass and the Down & Connor Schola Cantorum (Boys’ Choir) sings at the 11am Mass.


History

Until the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
the cathedral of the
Diocese of Down and Connor The Diocese of Down and Connor, ( ga, Deoise an Dúin agus Chonaire) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the me ...
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. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...
. However, at the beginning of the 19th century, Belfast was a growing town; and with the appointment of
William Crolly William Crolly (8 June 1780 – 8 April 1849) was the Bishop of Down and Connor from 1825 to 1835, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh from 1835 to 1849. Early life and education A native of Ballykilbeg near Downpatrick, Crolly w ...
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 Bernard Hughes (18081878) was a nineteenth century Irish industrialist and politician. He was born in Co. Armagh but moved to Belfast in 1826. Hughes set up his bakery in 1840 and by 1870 he had the largest baking and milling industry in Irela ...
Features
St Peter's Cathedral website. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
while the church was designed by Fr Jeremiah Ryan McAuley, who had trained as an architect before he became a priest. The church was opened on 14 October 1866. The signature twin spires were added in 1886. 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 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 prefecture or apostoli ...
, 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 Bishop Daniel Mageean D.D. 6 May 1882 – 17 January 1962 was an Irish Roman Catholic Prelate and until 1962 he held the title Lord Bishop of Down and Connor. Early life and priestly ministry Daniel Mageean was born in the townland of Darragh ...
was consecrated bishop. The decision to designate St Peter's as the diocesan cathedral was taken by Bishop
Cahal Daly Charles (Cahal) Brendan Cardinal Daly KGCHS (1 October 1917 – 31 December 2009) was an Irish philosopher, theologian, writer and international speaker and, in later years, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Daly served as the Roman Cat ...
who celebrated the Mass on 29 June 1986 at which the building was formally designated as the cathedral church of Down and Connor.


Design

The exterior is of Scrabo sandstone with Scottish sandstone dressings. Internally there is a hammer-beam ceiling. There were several extensive refurbishments in 1950, in 1986 under the direction of the Irish artist Ray Carroll and again in 2003–2005 while
Patrick Walsh (bishop of Down and Connor) Patrick Joseph Walsh (born 9 April 1931) is an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. From 1991 until 2008 he was the 31st Bishop of Down & Connor. Early life and education Walsh was born in 1931 at Cobh, Irish Free State. When he was 1 ...
was bishop which undid much of the 1980s work. 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." It is a Grade A listed building.History
Department of Communities website. Retrieved 29 October 2017.


Liturgy in the cathedral

Mass is celebrated every day in the cathedral: * Sunday Masses are: Vigil (Saturday) 5.30pm; 9am and 11am (High Mass). * Weekday Masses are at 10am, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 7.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other sacraments and liturgies: * Confessions are at 10.30am and 5pm on Saturdays. * Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place each Tuesday and Thursday from 10am - 7pm. * Baptisms take place on Saturdays at 1pm. * 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 Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. The Chrism Mass is one of the most solemn and important liturgies of the Christian liturgical calendar. The ancient Christian Apostolic Tradition (c ...
on
Holy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...
.


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 John Tohill (1855–1914) was an Irish Roman Catholic Prelate and 26th Lord Bishop of Down and Connor. He was born in Gortmacrane County Londonderry, on 23 December 1855 to Anthony Tohill and Alice (née Convery) Tohill. He studied Classic ...
: 1898–1905 *Fr
Bernard Laverty Monsignior Bernard Joseph Laverty (1863–1945) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Down and Connor. He was born in the parish of Duneane in 1863, studied at St. Malachy's College and St Patrick's College, Maynooth and was ordai ...
: 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 as Adm. *Fr John McLaverty: 1938–1943 *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; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
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