| St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne | |
| Cathedral Church of St. Mary, Newcastle upon Tyne | |
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St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne
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| Location | Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www.stmaryscathedral.org.uk |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 1844 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1842-1844 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of spires | 1 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Hexham and Newcastle (since 1850) |
| Province | Liverpool |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Séamus Cunningham |
| Dean | Peter Leighton |
The Cathedral Church of St Mary is a Catholic cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the mother church of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and seat of the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. The Cathedral, situated on Clayton Street, was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and built between 1842 and 1844. The cathedral is a grade I listed building and a fine example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture championed by Pugin. There is a monument dedicated to Cardinal Basil Hume in the Monument Garden outside of the cathedral, which was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002. St Mary's Cathedral is the fifth tallest structure in the city.
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By decree of Pope Pius IX on 29 September 1850, the Catholic hierarchy was restored on a regular pattern to England and Wales. Much of what had been known as the Vicariate Apostolic of the Northern District became the new See of Hexham.
Bishop William Hogarth was appointed to be the first bishop of the new diocese, and as such, required a church in which to place his seat or cathedra. St Mary's was chosen for this purpose and thus it gained the status of a cathedral church in 1850.
The name of the see was changed in 1861 to Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. Since then, eleven further bishops have been installed in St Mary's as Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
The seat of the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle was vacant after the death of the Right Reverend Kevin John Dunn in March 2008. He served in the post for almost four years, having been ordained and installed on the feast of St Bede the Venerable, May 25, 2004. Seamus Cunningham received his episcopal consecration on 20 March 2009 (feast of St. Cuthbert, the diocese's patron), at St. Mary’s Cathedral. He is the thirteenth bishop of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
On April 21, 2006 the incumbent Dean, the Reverend Michael Campion, officially left his appointment at the cathedral. He is succeeded by the Reverend Peter Leighton, formerly the Catholic Chaplain to the University of Durham. Under the careful and exacting guidance of the Reverend Peter Leighton, the Cathedral has undergone a thorough period of renovation restoring much of the beauty of the original design. Phase one of the work was completed in September 2010 and phase two of the work which includes the installation of an organ fit for a cathedral, something the cathedral has always lacked, will begin in the near future. For those who love architecture, a visit to the cathedral is a must.
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