Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral
| Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral of St David | |
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 Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral
Shown within Cardiff
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| Coordinates: 51°28′51″N 3°10′26″W / 51.48095°N 3.17402°W | |
| OS grid reference | 318569, 176430 |
| Location | Cardiff |
| Country | Wales |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | cardiffmetropolitan cathedral.org.uk |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 1842 |
| Architecture | |
| Years built | 1839–1842 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of spires | 1 |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Cardiff |
| Province | Cardiff |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | George Stack |
| Dean | Peter Gwilym Collins |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Dominic Neville. Master of the Choristers: James Neville. Organ scholar: Joseph Cavalli-Price |
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David, also known as St David's Cathedral Cardiff is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales and is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff. Located in Charles Street, the Cathedral remains the focal point for Catholic life in Cardiff, and the country as a whole. It is one of only three Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the UK which is associated with a choir school.
The original church was built at a cost of £2,124 in 1842, after fundraising in Wales and Ireland and a donation by Lady Catherine Eyre of Bath. The church was located on David Street, Cardiff and was dedicated to the patron saint of Wales, St David, at the request of Lady Eyre.
The current building was designed by Pugin and Pugin Architects and constructed 1884–87. It was Cardiff's principal Catholic church, and it became seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff in 1916. In 1920 it was declared the Cathedral Church of the new Archdiocese of Cardiff.
The Cathedral was destroyed by World War II bombing in March 1941 when incendiary bombs pierced the roof. During the 1950s it was restored and rebuilt, under the supervision of F. R. Bates, Son, and Price and was re-opened in March 1959.
The Boys' Choir was established in 1959, and in recent years the choir has expanded, and now comprises 65 boys and girls, student choral scholars and professional lay clerks.
The cathedral boy choristers and girl choristers are educated at the Choir School in St John's College, Cardiff, founded by Dr David Neville in 1987 as the Choir-school to the Metropolitan Cathedral.
Dr David Neville, Founding Principal of the Choir School St John's College and Cathedral Director of Music and Organist 1980-2016, received the Papal Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in 1991 for his services to cathedral music, and in 1997 he was a first recipient of the Archbishop of Wales Award for Church Music, chaired by George Guest CBE. In December 2015, David received a Papal Knighthood of the Order of St Gregory in recognition of his lifetime of service. David's last service at the Cathedral before his sudden death in April 2016 was a live broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January before an audience of 1.6 million. As a composer, David wrote works on a vast scale for chorus and orchestra, including The Wreck of the Deutschland directed by the internationally renowned conductor Vernon Handley at Hereford Cathedral. He was commissioned by the Welsh Arts Council, the Elgar Festival and the BBC, and his compositions have been performed in BBC broadcast and at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral. In the year 2000, David was commissioned to compose a royal fanfare for the National Millennium Service attended by Princes Charles, William and Harry.
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