Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral
Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral | |
---|---|
Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral of St David | |
Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral Shown within Cardiff | |
Coordinates: 51°28′51″N 3°10′26″W / 51.48095°N 3.17402°W | |
OS grid reference | 318569, 176430 |
Location | Cardiff |
Country | Wales |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Website | cardiffmetropolitan cathedral.org.uk |
History | |
Consecrated | 1842 |
Architecture | |
Years built | 1839–1842 |
Specifications | |
Number of spires | 1 |
Administration | |
Archdiocese | Cardiff |
Province | Cardiff |
Clergy | |
Archbishop | George Stack |
Dean | Peter Gwilym Collins |
Laity | |
Director of music | Dominic Neville |
Organist(s) | Joseph Cavalli-Price |
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David, also known as St David's Cathedral Cardiff is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales and is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff. Located in Charles Street, the Cathedral remains the focal point for Catholic life in Cardiff, and the country as a whole. It is one of only three Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the UK which is associated with a choir school.[1]
History
The original church was built at a cost of £2,124 in 1842, after fundraising in Wales and Ireland and a donation by Lady Catherine Eyre of Bath.[2] The church was located on David Street, Cardiff and was dedicated to the patron saint of Wales, St David, at the request of Lady Eyre.[2]
The current building was designed by Pugin and Pugin Architects and constructed 1884–87.[3] It was Cardiff's principal Catholic church, and it became seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff in 1916. In 1920 it was declared the Cathedral Church of the new Archdiocese of Cardiff.[2]
The Cathedral was destroyed by World War II bombing in March 1941 when incendiary bombs pierced the roof.[2] During the 1950s it was restored and rebuilt, under the supervision of F. R. Bates, Son, and Price and was re-opened in March 1959.[3]
Music
The Boys' Choir was established in 1959, and in recent years the choir has expanded, and now comprises 50 boys and girls, student choral scholars and professional lay clerks. Each year the Cathedral holds auditions for Choral Scholarships.
The cathedral boy choristers and girl choristers are educated at the Choir School in St John's College, Cardiff.
The choirs have travelled around western Europe to perform in concert, most recently in Madrid, Ghent, and Bruges, and closer to home at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral. In February 2011, the Cathedral Choir travelled to Paris to perform concerts at the Madeleine and at Nôtre Dame Cathedral (to an audience of more than 1000 people). In 2009, the boy and girl cathedral choristers appeared and sang in the 'Christmas Special' of BBC's Doctor Who. The episode was aired in Christmas 2009, and was David Tennant's last. In Autumn 2006, the choir undertook a choral exchange project with the Choir of St Bavo's in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The choirs can be heard in live broadcasts, on BBC Radio 4, and BBC Radio Wales.[4]
The current Organ Scholar is Joseph Cavalli-Price.
Parish
Adjoining the cathedral is the Cardiff branch of the Catholic Truth Society, where liturgical items including prayer books, candles and statues of Catholic saints can be purchased.
Priests
The Dean (Administrator) of the Cathedral is the Very Rev. Canon Peter Collins.
Services
Sunday Masses:
- 17:30 (Sat)
- 11:00
- 17:30
Holy Days:
- 11:30
- 12:30
- 17:30
References
External links
- Media related to Cardiff Cathedral at Wikimedia Commons
- Cardiff Cathedral Choirs' Official Website
- Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral Official Website
- Choir School: St John's College website