St Mary's Pro-Cathedral

Coordinates: 53°21′3″N 6°15′33″W / 53.35083°N 6.25917°W / 53.35083; -6.25917
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

St Mary's Pro-Cathedral
Dublin
DioceseDublin
Clergy
ArchbishopDermot Farrell
Laity
Organist(s)David Grealy

53°21′3″N 6°15′33″W / 53.35083°N 6.25917°W / 53.35083; -6.25917

St Mary's Church (

Primate of Ireland.[1][2]

Status as "pro-cathedral"

The view toward the Sanctuary from the nave
Detail of the apse
Altar

The city of Dublin possesses two cathedrals, but unusually, both belong to one church, the minority

St Patrick's Cathedral
.

These two churches had long shared the role of cathedral of Dublin, controversially at first, then under an agreement of 1300, Pacis Compositio, which gave Christchurch formal precedence, including the right to enthrone the Archbishop and to hold his cross, mitre and ring after death, but with deceased Archbishops of Dublin to be buried alternately in each of the two cathedrals, unless they personally willed otherwise, and the two cathedrals to act as one, and "shared equally in their freedoms".

Even though Christchurch has been in the possession of the Church of Ireland for nearly five hundred years, it is still viewed by the Roman Catholic Church as the primary official Dublin cathedral, since it was so designated by the pope at the request of the then Archbishop of Dublin, St Laurence O'Toole in the 12th century. Unless the pope either formally revokes Christchurch's designation or grants cathedral status to another church, the main Roman Catholic church in Dublin will continue to be designated a "pro-cathedral"[a] (meaning provisional or acting cathedral), a title officially given to St Mary's Church in 1886, though it used that title unofficially since the 1820s.

History

The Pro-Cathedral owes its origins to the

Catholic Emancipation. As a result, Catholicism began to abandon its previous status as an "underground" religion.[citation needed
]

In 1803, a committee formed by then Archbishop

John Thomas Troy bought Lord Annesley's townhouse on the corner of Marlborough Street and Elephant Lane (now called Cathedral Street), within sight of the city's premier thoroughfare, Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) as the location for the planned new pro-cathedral, pending the erection, when funds and the law allowed, of a full Roman Catholic cathedral. In 1814 a public competition had been announced by Archbishop Troy, inviting designs for the new church.[3]

In June 1814 the demolition of the house took place. Constructed between 1815 and 1825, pro-cathedral combines a number of styles. The exterior is in

Daniel Murray, celebrated the new pro-cathedral's completion on 14 November 1825, the feast of Dublin's patron saint, St Laurence O’Toole.[5]

Though not a full cathedral, the new building became a symbol of the Irish nationalist spirit in the era following the ending of the Penal Laws.

Catholic Emancipation, which among other things had allowed Catholics to be elected to parliament. In 1841, as the first Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin in centuries, O'Connell formally celebrated his election by travelling in state to "the Pro" for High Mass. After he died in 1847, his remains were laid in state on a great catafalque in the Pro-Cathedral.[citation needed
]

St Mary's baptism register contains quite a few entries for children born in the nearby Rotunda hospital; they were probably baptised quite quickly due to the feared infant mortality rates of the 19th century.[citation needed]

Plans for a full cathedral

The Pro-Cathedral was never intended to be other than a temporary acting cathedral, pending the availability of funds to build a full cathedral. Various locations for the new cathedral were discussed.

General Post Office, the location of the 1916 Rising, be turned into a cathedral, but the idea was not acted on, and the GPO was restored for use as a post office.[citation needed
]

John Charles McQuaid, who served as archbishop from the 1940s to the early 1970s, bought the gardens in the centre of Merrion Square and announced plans to erect a cathedral there, but to the relief of Dubliners, who preferred a garden in the centre of the city, his plans never came to pass and the gardens were eventually handed over by his successor to Dublin Corporation and opened to the public. While it is suggested periodically that the Church of Ireland, which has a relatively small membership, might hand over one of its cathedrals to the Catholic Church, no serious proposals have been made for such an arrangement. The Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral (which serves as the "national cathedral" of the Church of Ireland - Christchurch is treated as the diocesan cathedral of Dublin) did suggest allowing Catholic Masses to be celebrated in St. Patrick's but the idea was dropped after opposition within the Church of Ireland.[citation needed] Though theoretically, the possibility of erecting a new Catholic cathedral remains on the agenda, in reality, most of the funds collected for the building of a new cathedral have been spent erecting new churches in what was for a lengthy period a rapidly growing archdiocese.[citation needed]

State ceremony in the Pro-Cathedral

The funeral of Michael Collins in 1922 – a contemporary newspaper drawing. This image shows the original pre-Vatican II Turnerelli high altar, the pulpit (right) and Archbishop's cathedra (left, with canopy)

The Pro-Cathedral remains a focal point of religious and state ceremonial activity. Up until 1983, incoming presidents of Ireland traditionally attended, prior to their civil inauguration, a religious ceremony in either

Methodist and the Jewish faith taking part in the ceremony. (In 1973 it took place in St Patrick's, in 1974 and 1976 in the Pro-Cathedral.) In 1983 a multidenominational service was included as part of the civil inauguration in Dublin Castle.[citation needed
]

The major faiths held religious ceremonies in their main cathedral or pro-cathedral to mark the beginning of the law term or a session of parliament, which would be attended by the President of Ireland, the Taoiseach, ministers, the opposition, parliamentarians and members of the Diplomatic Corps. State funerals of major figures including Michael Collins and former presidents Seán T. O'Kelly, Éamon de Valera, Patrick Hillery and Lord Mayor of Dublin Kathleen Clarke took place there. A painting of the funeral of Michael Collins hangs in Áras an Uachtaráin, the president's residence.[citation needed]

Pope Francis visited the Pro-Cathedral on 25 August 2018 during an apostolic visit to Ireland.[6]

Layout

Internally, the Pro-Cathedral is dramatically different from the two main cathedrals of Dublin. Its mixture of Greek and Roman styles has proved controversial, being variously described as an artistic gem and an eyesore. Its main aisle leads up to an

altar rails were also removed. The pulpit was moved as well, to a position in a corner of the building.[citation needed
] A large contingent of Italian artisans were employed by the church, to decorate the interior of the cathedral.

The Pro-Cathedral caught fire in the early 1990s. Though the fire was extinguished before it caught hold of the building, considerable smoke damage was done to one corner of the building around the monument to Cardinal Cullen, perhaps the most famous of all the nineteenth-century Archbishops, and the first Archbishop of Dublin to be made a cardinal.

Music

Organ

Organ on the gallery at the east-end of the nave.

The original organ in the Pro-Cathedral was built by the Dublin organ builder, John White, in the late 19th century,[7] and the present instrument contains some of White's original pipework. The present facade of the organ dates from William Hill's rebuild of the organ around 1900. Subsequent work was carried out by Henry Willis & Co. in the 1930s, before J.W. Walker's major rebuild of 1971 under the administrator Monsignor John Moloney and the most recent refurbishment of the instrument, by the same firm which was completed in the autumn of 1995. The newly refurbished instrument was inaugurated in a gala concert given by Olivier Latry on 20 March 1996.

The swell of the organ is built into the back wall of the Church. The shutters of the swell are in line with the rest of the wall. The organ console itself was moved in a general redevelopment of the church in 1995. This was to facilitate the direction of the choir.

This organ has become regarded as one of the finest examples in Ireland of the late nineteenth-century grand Romantic organ, and has since its original installation featured prominently in the many great liturgical occasions which have graced the pro-cathedral church. More recently many of the great organ recitalists of our time have performed on it: Daniel Chorzempa, Xavier Darasse, Sir David Lumsden, Daniel Roth, Dame Gillian Weir, Arthur Wills,[8] Olivier Latry, and others. The Titular Organist of Saint Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Gerard Gillen, was appointed to the position in 1976.[citation needed] David Grealy was appointed Associate Organist in September 2017.[9]

A chancel organ built by the Dublin organ builder, John White, is located on the epistle (right) side of the High Altar. It fell into disuse on the reordering of the sanctuary c.1980. Its mechanism and pipework are stored in the bowels of the Pro-Cathedral. In the early 2000s, a three-stop portable continuo organ was acquired, which provides accompaniment for sanctuary services such as Vespers/Evening Prayer, and is also used for continuo purposes in appropriate choral and orchestral repertoire.

Choir

The church is known for its Palestrina Choir,[4] the resident choir of Saint Mary's Pro-Cathedral. It had its origins in a boys' choir formed in the 1890s by Vincent O'Brien, then a music teacher at St Mary's Place Christian Brothers School in Dublin. It was at a performance of Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli at St. Teresa's Carmelite Church in Clarendon Street in 1898 that this choir came to the attention of Edward Martyn, their founding sponsor.[10] Martyn wished to promote the music of Palestrina which was espoused by Pope Pius X as a standard to which liturgical music should aspire. The Palestrina Choir was constituted and installed in the Pro-Cathedral on 1 January 1903 with O'Brien as director.

In the century since its foundation, the choir has had seven directors. Vincent O'Brien, director until 1946, was succeeded by his son, Oliver. In 1978, Fr Seán O hEarcaigh took over the baton from Oliver O'Brien. He was succeeded in 1982, by Ite O'Donovan and in 1996 by Comdt Joseph Ryan. Órla Barry was the director from the end of 1996 to 2001. As of 2013, the director was Blánaid Murphy.[citation needed] Over the years, the Palestrina Choir has attracted notable singers, including John McCormack who was a member of the choir from 1904 to 1905.[10] The choir has travelled widely, singing at several cathedrals and venues throughout Ireland, Europe, and North America.[citation needed]

During the school term, the Palestrina Choir sing at Sunday morning Solemn Latin Mass (Novus Ordo),[4] Friday evening Vespers & Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament (5.15pm) and Mass (5.45pm).[citation needed] A girls' choir was formed in 2009.[citation needed]

Burials

Sculpture of Archbishop Daniel Murray in the north aisle by Thomas Farrell

Interior

  • The post-1982 altar using part of Turnerelli's old high altar and High Mass candlesticks
    The post-1982 altar using part of Turnerelli's old high altar and High Mass candlesticks
  • Immaculata Altar
    Immaculata Altar
  • Sanctuary
    Sanctuary
  • Altar
    Altar
  • St Joseph's Altar
    St Joseph's Altar
  • Monument to Paul, Cardinal Cullen, the first Irishman to be made a cardinal
    Monument to Paul, Cardinal Cullen, the first Irishman to be made a cardinal

Notes

  1. ^ Pro is short for Pro tempore, a Latin phrase meaning "temporary or provisional".
  2. ^ Though the Penal Laws were principally targeted at Roman Catholics, they were also used against many smaller Nonconformist denominations, such as the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. In theory, only members of the state church, the Church of Ireland, had full civil rights and were free from discrimination in everything from their religious worship to their right to own property.

See also

References

External links