St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Roman Catholic) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Saint Patrick's Cathedral |
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| Catholic Cathedral of St Patrick in Armagh | |
Main façade of the Cathedral
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| Location | Armagh, County Armagh |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 1904 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Thomas Duff – 1838 JJ McCarthy – 1853 William Hague – 1899 George Ashlin – 1904 |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1840–1904 |
| Groundbreaking | 1838 |
| Completed | 1904 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 63.3 metres (208 ft) |
| Width across transepts | 36 metres (118 ft) |
| Number of spires | 2 |
| Spire height | 63m (210ft) |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Armagh |
| Province | Armagh |
St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Northern Ireland is a very important church. It is the main church for the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, who is the leader of the Catholic Church in all of Ireland.
This beautiful cathedral was built over many years, from 1840 to 1904. It was made to be the main Roman Catholic church for the Armagh area. Before this, the original St. Patrick's Cathedral was used by the Church of Ireland. This happened during the Reformation, when the Irish Church split.
Like its Anglican partner, the Catholic Cathedral stands proudly on a hill in Armagh.
Contents
Why a New Cathedral Was Needed
Building a Catholic cathedral in Armagh was a huge deal. Armagh was the ancient religious capital of Ireland. It was also the main seat for the leader of the church. But for a long time, since Henry VIII's time, no Catholic Archbishop had lived there.
For centuries, most Catholics in Ireland faced tough laws. These laws, called the Penal Laws, made it very hard for Catholics to practice their faith openly. They couldn't own land or get an education easily. All the existing churches were given to the official state church.
By the late 1700s, there were very few Catholic churches or cathedrals in Ireland. After Catholics gained more rights in 1829, there was a clear need to build new churches. Many Catholics felt it was especially important to have a strong Catholic presence in Armagh, their historic religious center.
Building Begins with Primate Crolly
Archbishop William Crolly became the Catholic leader in Armagh in 1835. He was the first Catholic leader to live in Armagh since the Reformation. He immediately started looking for a place to build a new Catholic cathedral.
Finding land was tricky because most of Armagh belonged to the Protestant leader. However, a piece of land on Sandy Hill, just outside town, was available.
A building committee was set up. People even collected a penny each week to help pay for it. The architect chosen was Thomas Duff. He designed a church shaped like a cross. It had a main hall (the nave), side sections (the aisles), and parts that stuck out on the sides (the transepts). It also had a special area for the altar (the chancel) and a choir section.
Duff's design included a large square tower in the middle and two smaller towers at the front. The style was a romantic version of 16th-century Perpendicular Gothic architecture. The first stone was laid on St. Patrick's Day in 1838. But work stopped in 1847 because of the Irish Famine. Only the foundations and parts of the side sections were finished.
Work Continues with Primates Dixon and McGettigan
Archbishop Crolly sadly died from cholera in 1849 while helping people during the famine. He was buried in the unfinished cathedral. His successor, Archbishop Paul Cullen, stopped the project and moved the main church to Drogheda.
Work only started again in 1854 when Archbishop Joseph Dixon took over. By this time, Duff had died, and architectural styles had changed. The 16th-century Gothic style was no longer popular. Older Medieval Gothic styles were preferred.
James Joseph McCarthy, an architect who followed the ideas of A. W. N. Pugin, was hired to finish the cathedral. This was a challenge because Duff's walls were already 34 feet (10 meters) high. McCarthy didn't want to continue in the old style.
He decided to build a 14th-century Decorated Gothic cathedral on top of the existing 16th-century foundations. He changed the window designs and added statues at the front. He also raised the roof by 20 feet (6 meters), making the building look much taller. He added side towers with spires that reached 210 feet (63 meters) high.
Archbishop Dixon died in 1866 before the cathedral was finished. The project stopped again. It was up to Archbishop Daniel McGettigan to finally complete the building. After the spires were done, McGettigan focused on the inside.
McCarthy designed a beautiful vaulted hammer-beam roof with carved angels. He also created a large stone screen behind the altar, called a Caen stone reredos. This screen was filled with carvings showing scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary.
Archbishop McGettigan also ordered painted murals for the Lady Chapel walls. The cathedral was officially opened on August 24, 1873.
After the opening, Primate McGettigan continued to improve the cathedral. He added the Stations of the Cross and a large pipe organ. Stained glass was put into the east window. Steps were built leading up to the front of the cathedral. By the time Archbishop McGettigan died in 1887, over £70,000 had been spent on the cathedral.
Cardinal Logue's Grand Vision
Michael Logue became the next Archbishop. He later became a Cardinal in 1893, the first Archbishop of Armagh to receive this honor. When he saw the finished cathedral, he wasn't impressed with the inside. He felt it looked "shabby and poor" compared to the beautiful outside.
On August 20, 1899, Cardinal Logue asked people in Ireland and around the world to donate money to make the inside of the cathedral more beautiful. A fundraising event in 1900 raised over £30,000. The architect William Hague was hired to make plans.
Cardinal Logue even traveled to Italy to choose marble and find skilled artists. Hague designed a marble screen, called a rood screen, that was 30 feet (9 meters) wide and 36 feet (11 meters) tall.
Hague died soon after, and George Coppinger Ashlin took over. Ashlin found a big problem with the roofs of the side sections. He had to build a new roof, which used up much of the money raised. He also had to fix the tower foundations.
Despite this, Cardinal Logue pushed ahead with grand plans. Ashlin designed a new High Altar made of expensive marbles like Carrara marble, Lapis Lazuli, and Jasper. An Italian sculptor, Cesare Aureli, carved a detailed scene of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper for the altar.
Ashlin also added two marble screens, 30 feet (9 meters) wide, to close off the main crossing area. He designed marble communion railings. The Archbishop's special chair, the Cathedra, was made of marble with carvings of the Cardinal's armorial bearings. The floor of the crossing was paved with beautiful inlaid marbles.
An amazing pulpit (where sermons are given) was built from marble with statues of saints. Its wooden canopy was carved and decorated with gold.
Behind the rood screen, McCarthy's original reredos was kept. But its lower parts were decorated with colorful Italian marbles. A new Lady Altar was built with carvings by the Roman sculptor Michele Trepisciano.
Side chapels were added for St Joseph and St Brigid. A rich altar was built for the Sacred Heart. The wooden gallery at the west end was replaced with a marble screen. The organ was rebuilt and given a new wooden case.
One of Cardinal Logue's most impressive additions was the mosaics. He wanted to cover every blank wall space. Earlier painted murals had been damaged by damp weather. Mosaics, made of small pieces of Italian pottery and glass, were chosen because they would last longer. They were put together in London and then glued onto the walls like wallpaper.
Finally, Cardinal Logue hired Italian painter Oreste Amici to paint the entire hammer-beam roof in an Italianate style. The ceilings were painted in oils, mostly in a soft terracotta color to match the mosaics.
With all these works finished, the cathedral was officially rededicated on July 20, 1904.
Changes in the 1980s
Cardinal Conway became Archbishop in 1963. He wanted to make changes to the church services as suggested by the Second Vatican Council. These changes aimed for more involvement from the people attending mass. It was felt that the marble works from 1904 made it hard for large services to take place.
Cardinal Conway started a competition to redesign the sanctuary area. Many designs suggested removing most of the marble work. Conway chose a design by Liam McCormick, but work didn't start until after Conway's death in 1977.
Cardinal O'Fiaich oversaw the completion of these changes. The changes were very big and caused a lot of debate. Almost all the marble work at the crossing was removed and much of it was destroyed. This included Hague's rood screen, Ashlin's high altar, the Cardinal's throne, altar rails, and the marble floor. The pulpit was taken apart.
Only McCarthy's stone reredos survived, but its lower marble parts were removed. New church fittings were made from rough Wicklow Granite. The sanctuary area was made larger and covered in polished granite. The new altar, ambo (a stand for readings), and tabernacle were carved by an Irish sculptor. Carpets replaced the marble floor. A large sculpture called "The Tree of Life" was added.
The cathedral was rededicated on June 13, 1982. Relics of St. Malachy were placed in the new altar.
Many people were shocked and upset by these changes. Critics said the new work didn't fit with the original design of the cathedral. One historian said the new parts looked like "chunks of granite and a tabernacle that looks like a microwave."
Modern Restoration and Renewal
Even though the inside of the cathedral changed a lot in 1982, the building itself hadn't had major repairs since 1904. By 2002, it was clear that big structural repairs were needed. Dampness had damaged the mosaics, and smoke and dust had dulled the painted decorations. The outside stonework was worn, and the twin spires were unstable.
A committee decided that it was also time to review the sanctuary area, which had been criticized. The firm Rooney & McConville was hired to redesign it. McCormick's fittings were removed. The sanctuary floor was relaid with Italian porcelain tiles that looked like the original 1904 marble floor.
A new altar and ambo were installed, made from Tunisian limestone. The altar's design was inspired by old Irish crosses. It shows images of Christ and four Irish saints: St. Patrick, St. Malachy, St. Brigid, and St. Oliver Plunkett.
Two brass gates from the 1899 rood screen were copied and used to create a new brass screen behind the high altar. This helped to restore a separate Lady Chapel area. The tabernacle was moved to the South transept, which was also screened off. The Cardinal's throne was placed behind the new altar.
The base of McCarthy's reredos was restored, and the 1904 inlaid marbles were uncovered. By the time the cathedral was rededicated on May 25, 2003, over £6,000,000 had been spent on the restoration.
The Cathedral Today
St. Patrick's Cathedral is part of a larger parish. This parish also includes the Church Of St Malachy, the Church of St Colmcille at Knockaconey, and the Church of The Immaculate Conception in Tullysaran.
Daily Mass is held Monday to Saturday at 10:00am. On Sunday, Mass is celebrated at 11:00am and 5:30pm. There is also a Saturday evening Mass at 7:00 pm. Confessions are usually heard before the Saturday evening Mass.
Important People Buried Here
Many important church leaders are buried at St. Patrick's Cathedral:
- William Cardinal Crolly
- William Cardinal Conway
- John Cardinal D'Alton
- Cahal Cardinal Daly
- Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich
- Michael Cardinal Logue
The Cathedral Organ
The cathedral's organ was first built by William Telford in 1875. In 1987, it was rebuilt and made larger by the Irish Organ Company Ltd. The organ now has sounds from English, French, and European styles. It has four keyboards and 58 stops (different sounds).
Organ Details
The organ has many different sections, each with unique sounds:
- Positif: Includes soft and bright sounds like Gelind Gedeckt 8, Bell Gamba 8, and Cromorne 8.
- Great: Has powerful sounds like Double Diapason 16, Open Diapason 8, and Bombarde 16.
- Swell: Features expressive sounds like Open Diapason 8, Salicional 8, and Cornopean 8.
- Bombarde: Contains strong and unique sounds like Flute Harmonique 8, Voce Umana 8+8, and Trompeta Réal 8.
- Pedal: Provides deep bass sounds like Gravissima 32, Principal 16, and Bombarde 16.
Organist
Baron George Minne was the Organist of St. Patrick's Cathedral from 1959 to 2005. He was born in Belgium in 1924. He was a very talented pianist and composer. He knew many pieces by famous composers like Bach, Handel, and Mozart.
See also
In Spanish: Catedral de San Patricio (Armagh) para niños
- List of carillons of the British Isles
- List of tourist attractions in Ireland
