St Peter's Cathedral, Belfast
Saint Peter's Cathedral | |
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Saint Peter's Cathedral, Belfast | |
Saint Peter's Cathedral Location within Northern Ireland | |
54°35′57″N 5°56′40″W / 54.599038°N 5.944408°WCoordinates: 54°35′57″N 5°56′40″W / 54.599038°N 5.944408°W | |
Location | Belfast, County Antrim |
Country | Northern Ireland |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Website | stpeterscathedralbelfast.com |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) |
Fr. Jeremiah Ryan McAuley John O'Neill |
Style | Gothic Revival |
Years built | 1860–1866 |
Specifications | |
Length | 180ft (54.8m) |
Width | 70ft (21.3m) |
Number of spires | 2 |
Administration | |
Diocese | Down and Connor (since 1866) |
Province | Armagh |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Most Rev Noel Treanor |
Laity | |
Director of music | Nigel McClintock |
Organist(s) | Nigel McClintock |
St. Peter's Cathedral, Belfast. (Irish: Ard Eaglais Naomh Peadar) is the Roman Catholic cathedral church for the Diocese of Down and Connor, and is therefore the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor. It is located in the Divis Street area of the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland and dates from the 1860s. It is home to St Peter's Schola Cantorum (Choir).
History
The cathedral was originally a parish church. It was designed by Fr Jeremiah Ryan McAulay, who had trained as an architect before he became a priest, and built on a site donated by a local baker. Bernard Hughes.[1] It opened on 14 October 1866.
Until the Reformation the cathedral of the Diocese of Down & Connor had been at Downpatrick. Since that was no longer available, St Peter's was made into a pro-cathedral, or temporary cathedral, for the Diocese, until 29 June 1986, when it became a cathedral in the full sense.
Past Administrators
From St Peter's Cathedral website[2] unless otherwise stated:
- Fr William Blaney: 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: 1919–1929
- Fr Alexander McAteer: 1929–1930
- Fr George McKillop: 1930–1943
- 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 Alec 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).