St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow

St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow
St Andrew's Cathedral, with the St. Enoch Centre in the background
Location	Glasgow
Country	Scotland
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.cathedralG1.org
Architecture
Architect(s)	James Gillespie Graham
Administration
Province	Glasgow
Diocese	Glasgow
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Archbishop and Metropolitan Most Rev Mario Joseph Conti
Dean	Mgr Christopher J McElroy
Laity
Organist(s)	Steve Rance/Rob Cakebread

The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow. The Cathedral, which was designed in 1814 by James Gillespie Graham in the Neo Gothic style, lies on the north bank of the River Clyde in Clyde Street. St. Andrew's Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Glasgow, currently Archbishop Mario Conti. It is dedicated to the patron saint of Scotland, Saint Andrew.

History

From the Scottish Reformation of 1560 until the beginning of the Catholic Emancipation process in 1791, with the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1791 - which restored certain civil rights and freedom of worship - Roman Catholics in Glasgow had to worship covertly. By the end of the 18th century, particularly with the influx of Irish immigrants to Glasgow during the nascent stages of the Industrial Revolution, there soon emerged an increasing demand for a Roman Catholic church in the city. In 1805 there were only approximately 450 Catholics in the city. However, in 1814, when the number of recorded communicants had increased to 3,000, the decision was taken to build a new church in Clyde Street. Completed in 1816, and designed by James Gillespie Graham (1776–1855), the church of St. Andrew formally re-introduced the Roman Catholic presence to Glasgow. The Cathedral was built by Rev. Andrew Scott , 'who courageously began its erection in 1814 for his vast Irish flock'(Pg 127 The Irish in Scotland. James Handley 1964 ]

The continuing hostility to the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland was evident during the construction of the church: work completed during the day was torn down by sabateurs at night, delaying completion and eventually guards had to be placed on the building site to protect the construction works. However, congregations of other Christian denominations in the city donated money for the completion of the project in a gesture of ecumenism in light of the difficulties faced in construction. The church building is relatively modest in scale, without a steeple or bell tower. This was due primarily to continuing restrictions on the prominence of Catholic places of worship under the Relief Act of 1791, that were not ultimately repealed until the later Catholic Relief Act of 1829.

In the wake of the Restoration of the Scottish hierarchy, undertaken by Pope Leo XIII in 1878, the church of St. Andrew was eventually raised to the status of pro-Cathedral in 1884, and was also extensively renovated at that time by the architects Pugin and Pugin.

In 1947, with the establishment of the new Dioceses of Motherwell and Paisley, the Archdiocese of Glasgow recovered the status of Metropolitan Diocese which it had had before the Reformation and St. Andrew's became a Metropolitan Cathedral.

St Andrew's Parish

St. Andrew’s Parish traces its origins to the reappointment of a parish priest for Glasgow in 1792. That year, two hundred people came to the opening Mass in a rented hall in Mitchell Street. Five years later, new premises in the Calton area of the East End provided for 600 people each Sunday until the opening of the Church of St. Andrew at Clyde Street in 1817.

Since then, the opening of new parishes and the redevelopment of the city centre have depleted the population of the Cathedral parish, but the remaining small community of parishioners is augmented by numbers from elsewhere, some of whom travel considerable distances to assist with the celebration of the liturgy and the care of the fabric. Shoppers, workers, students, tourists and passers-by also regularly visit the Cathedral — for quiet prayer, for Mass, or for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There are also major liturgies celebrated frequently by the Archbishop, which attract worshipers from parishes throughout the Archdiocese.

Renovation

A major restoration project began on 14 August 2009. The Cathedral has long been in need of major refurbishment and expansion. The programme of renovation will include the completion of new heating and lighting systems as well as redecoration and gold leaf restoration, installation of newly commissioned bronze doors, the repair and reinstatement of the pipe organ and the installation of a new canvas by Peter Howson depicting the martyrdom of St John Ogilvie. The work is expected to be completed by April 2011, and will see the return of the Cathedra to St Andrew's Cathedral from its current home at the temporary pro-Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Glasgow at Saint Mary's, Calton.

See also

• Archbishop of Glasgow
• Catholicism in Scotland
• Glasgow Cathedral, the former Roman Catholic Cathedral and current Presbyterian High Kirk of Glasgow
• St. Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow, the Episcopalian cathedral
• St Luke's Orthodox Cathedral, Glasgow, the Greek Orthodox cathedral
• Listed Building in Scotland

External links

• [1] Official Website of the RC Cathedral of Glasgow