Shrewsbury Cathedral

Shrewsbury Cathedral
Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Peter of Alcantara
Shrewsbury Cathedral Shown within Shropshire
Coordinates: 52°42′19″N 2°45′14″W / 52.7053°N 2.7540°W / 52.7053; -2.7540
Location	Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Country	England
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	shrewsburycathedral.org
History
Consecrated	1856
Architecture
Status	Cathedral
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	1953
Architect(s)	E. W. Pugin
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1852
Completed	1856
Administration
Diocese	Shrewsbury (since 1856)
Province	Birmingham
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Rt Rev. Mark Davies
Dean	Jonathan Mitchell
Laity
Director of music	Judith Hall
Organist(s)	Toby Belfield

The Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Peter of Alcantara, commonly known as Shrewsbury Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Shrewsbury, England. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury and mother church of the Diocese of Shrewsbury which covers the historic counties of Shropshire and Cheshire.

The building of the cathedral was originally commissioned by John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, the intended architect being Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin but both men died in 1852 before the work was expected to start. The succeeding nephew, the 17th Earl, Bertram Talbot offered to fund the building of the cathedral from which the new diocese of Shrewsbury would be based. The cathedral's design was taken over by Edward Pugin (the son of Augustus). Originally, a larger cathedral with a tall spire was planned. However, two years into the building of the cathedral, a stratum of sand was discovered very close to the building's foundations, causing them to be weaker than expected, so the spire had to be abandoned and the building scaled down. The Earl of Shrewsbury then agreed to meet the cost of a smaller church, and this was finished at a cost of £4,000, although the Earl died three months prior to its completion. In 1856, the cathedral was completed and was opened by Cardinal Wiseman.

On 30 October 1956, a Mass was said in the cathedral to commemorate its centenary. The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Francis Grimshaw of Birmingham, Bishop John Murphy of Shrewsbury, Bishop Cyril Restieaux of Plymouth. Bishop Edward Ellis of Nottingham, Bishop John Rudderham of Clifton and Bishop John Petit of Menevia.