Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
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Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (usually shortened to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, England. It replaced the Pro-Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Copperas Hill. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool, the mother church of Liverpool's Catholics, and the metropolitan church of the ecclesiastical Northern Province.
In 1853 Bishop Goss awarded the commission for the building of a new Roman Catholic cathedral to Edward Welby Pugin (1833-1875), the son of Augustus Welby Pugin the joint architect of the Houses of Parliament and champion of the Gothic Revival. By 1856 the Lady Chapel of the new cathedral had been completed on a site adjacent to the Catholic Institute on Saint Domingo Road, Everton. Due to financial restrictions work on the building ceased at this point and the Lady Chapel now named Our Lady Immaculate served as parish church to the local Catholic population until its demolition in the 1980s.
Following purchase of the present 9-acre site at Brownlow Hill in 1930 Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) was commissioned to provide a design which would be an appropriate response to the Gilbert Scott-designed Neo-gothic Anglican cathedral then emerging at the other end of Hope Street. Lutyens' design would have created a massive classical/Byzantine structure that would have become the second-largest church in the world. It would have had the world's largest dome, being 510 feet compared to the 450 feet on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 5 June 1933, but again financial restrictions caused the abandonment of this plan after construction of the crypt.
The new cathedral, designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd and consecrated in 1967, was built on land adjacent to the crypt. Its circular plan was conceived as a response to the Second Vatican Council's requirements for a greater participation of the lay faithful in the sacred liturgy.
"Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations " Second Vatican Council 1962-1965
Whether or not the intimate integration of congregation and clergy that is effected by this design is the proper fulfilment of that council's call is a topic that enjoys lively debate throughout the Catholic Church today.
Chapels are built in between the buttresses that support the tent-shaped spire (which represents the crown of thorns of Jesus) like tent poles. A short film, Crown of Glass, documents the construction of the cathedral's rainbow-coloured stained glass windows.
The cathedral stands on the site of the Liverpool Workhouse, on Hope Street. Facing it at the opposite end of Hope Street is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool, the city's Anglican cathedral. (Ironically, Lutyens was an Anglican, while the architect of the Anglican cathedral, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was a Catholic.)
[edit] Cathedral Choir
- Masters of the Music
- Terence Duffy : March 2005 - Present
- Richard Lea & Terence Duffy : November 2004 - March 2005
- Keith Orrell : January 2004 - October 2004
- Richard Lea: September 2003 - January 2004
- Mervyn Cousins : 1997 - 2003
- Katherine Dienes : 1996 - 1997
- Philip Duffy : 1966 - 1996
- Christopher Symons : 1960 - 1966
Philip Duffy and Terence Duffy are brothers. During Philip's reign as Master Of The Music, Terence was the organist. Richard Lea is the current organist of the cathedral and was asked to act as choir director during September 2003 - January 2004 while a permanent replacement for Mervyn Cousins was found.
Keith Orrell was the most recent appointment as Director of Music from open competition however his tenure was short lived - just 10 months. Following his departure, Terence Duffy was asked to return from retirement to be the Director of Music. In doing so, he has cemented the link between the Cathedral musical tradition and the Duffy family.
Terence Duffy is to leave the choir at the end of the current school year (July 2007). Timothy Noon (currently Director of Music of St David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire) has been appointed the new Director of Music.
The Current Sub Organist at the Cathedral is Philip Arkwright, and the Current Organ Scholar is James Gallagher
[edit] Local Information
- Liverpudlians affectionately call the cathedral "Paddy's Wigwam" because of its largely Irish Catholic congregation and its general resemblance to a Native American teepee.
- The church's concrete exterior has not worn well and suffers from leaks. A belfry stands to the east of the church. A new stepped approach has recently been built as part of a multi-million pound restoration.
- The Cathedral's choir has a reputation as one of the finest in the UK. It has a very large repertoire, from contemporary music to Gregorian Chant.
- The Cathedral's crypt hosts the Liverpool Beer Festival each February.
[edit] External links
- Cathedral site
- An image of the Lutyens design. Courtesy of 'Dream Organs'.
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