Shrewsbury Cathedral

The Church was designed by Edward Pugin the son of Augustus Pugin and was completed in 1856. The building was paid for by Bertram, Earl of Shrewsbury who sadly died three months before it was completed. It was he who chose the dedication and wished to take the name of Shrewsbury.

A Cathedral is more than just a large church; it takes it’s name from the ‘Cathedra’ or Bishop’s Chair which you will see raised up in the centre of the Sanctuary. The chair symbolises the teaching office of the Bishop—in early times teaching was done from a sitting position. The Bishop and his Cathedral are both a focus for the diocesan family of priests and laity and also a part of the Church’s outreach with the ‘good news’ of Jesus Christ for all people.

The Cathedral was re-ordered in 1984 to make it more practical for the celebration of the revised liturgy. A new Altar of local Grinshill Stone was consecrated by Bishop Gray in March 1985. This is the table of the Lord where the priest consecrates the bread and the wine which is to become the Body and Blood of Our Lord and to which the people of God are invited to share in this sacrament of love. The Font at which we receive the sacrament of Baptism which brings us into new life with Christ and makes us members of his Body - the Church. 
The Ambo from which is proclaimed the Gospel - the ‘good news’ and the word of God. The Tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved.

Amongst the glories of the Cathedral must be counted the stained glass. Six out of the ten windows are the outstanding work of Margaret Rope which were produced in the period between the wars. She was the daughter of a local doctor and after training, in Dublin, she became a Carmelite nun.