Diocesan News
Message from President Michael D Higgins to be conveyed at greatly curtailed celebrations in Cork of the 150th anniversary of the Consecration of St Fin Barre’s Cathedral
On Monday next (30th November 2020), a message from the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, will be read during a short online religious ceremony to mark the 150th anniversary of the Consecration of one of Cork’s, also one of Ireland’s, most iconic buildings: Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, participation in the ceremony will be limited to the Bishop, Dr Paul Colton, the Dean, the Very Reverend Nigel Dunne, and the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Joe Kavanagh, accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, Stephanie Kavanagh.
The Lord Mayor, representing the people of Cork, will bring his greetings in person, and messages will also be read from An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, TD, and the Church of Ireland Archbishops of Dublin and Armagh. Similar greetings sent from around the world have been received and published in recent weeks, including from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishops of York, Wales, Hong Kong, Egypt, Burundi, Southern Africa and Canada, and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
This ceremony may be watched live at 11am on Monday 30th November via the Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral webcam on the website at: https://corkcathedral.webs.com
Within the current Level 5 restrictions the lay vicars of the cathedral, and the cathedral music department with trumpeters, will provide music for the occasion, the high point of which will be the singing, following the blessing, of Te Deum Laudamus, a hymn of praise dating to the early centuries of Christianity, set to music by Irish composer, Charles Villiers Stanford.
The cathedral organ – the largest in Ireland – and trumpeters will provide music also for the opening procession accompanying the arrival of the Lord Mayor: Heraldic Fanfare and Marcia from Widor’s Third Organ Symphony. The short ceremony will close with Hymne d’action de grâce Te Deum by Langlais.
Bishop Colton and Dean Dunne are also inviting pedestrians in Cork and people who have visited the Cathedral over the years, as well as professional photographers, to post photos of the Cathedral on social media on Monday next, 30th November, using the #SFB150
Diocesan Media & Information Technology Officer
087 7055 989
Ms Denise Stobart
media@corkchurchofireland.com