WELCOME TO
MENEVIA CATHEDRAL
SWANSEA, WALES CATHOLIC
PAUL SCOTT
SATELLITE VIEW
The satellite view shows the Cathedral closely bounded on two sides by Convent Street. In fact the Cathedral lies a couple of kilometres from the Swansea city centre. The Cathedral has no particular geographical orientation, so we shall use the indicated liturgical directions with the main entry and tower at the West end (West with a capital W, top of photograph), and the sanctuary at the East end. The building is essentially rectangular in shape with an apse at the East end. The high nave has covered side aisles leading to chapels at the East end.
As with a number of these smaller cathedrals, I can find no plan online, nor was one available at the time of my visit. However, the layout here is straightforward, and will become clear as we walk through the Cathedral.
You can access intermediate points in the tour by a tap / click on the following links:
Some history follows, but to continue with the tour, start with START!
NOTE ON MAGNIFYING IMAGES
With this website format the images are large enough for most purposes. If there is a need for greater magnification of an image, go to the identical photo on
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulscottinfo/albums
and use Command - + (Mac) or Windows - + (Windows).
HISTORY
This history is taken from the Cathedral site:
http://www.meneviacathedral.org/history/4586753804
There are some old photographs on this site too.
The first building to house a Catholic Church in Greenhill stood on what is now the site of St Joseph’s Junior Cathedral School in 1857. Under the guidance of Fr Peter Lewis, this building acted as a church on Sunday and as a classroom within the week. The first Ursulines of Jesus Sisters arrived to teach the children of Greenhill in September 1860.
In 1865 the foundation stone was laid for a new church, which opened in October 1866, on the site of the current Parish Hall. Numbers of children attending the school increased and as such the area below the new church was used as a classroom.
On the retirement of Fr Peter Lewis in 1873, the already established Church of St David in the City Centre was placed under the charge of the English Benedictines while Fr Basil Hurworth led the new Church of St Joseph.
By 1875, Fr Wulstan Richards had arrived in Greenhill as the first resident priest in the Church of St. Joseph, marking the separation of St David’s and St Joseph’s into their own respective parishes.
Fr Wulstan Richards called upon the talents of Peter Paul Pugin, son of Augustus Pugin, to design a new church in 1886. The Church of St Joseph was opened, unfinished, on 25th November 1888 by Dr Hedley, Bishop of Newport. The Stations of the Cross that currently hang in the Cathedral were brought from Antwerp by Fr Willibrod Van Volckxson and Fr Bede Cox was successful in obtaining Lord Petre’s Pipe Organ.
On 4th October 1919 the church was consecrated and the War Memorial that stands at the church’s entrance was unveiled. The War Memorial featured the names of 120 parish members, including one woman from World War I. In 2000 the names of those who died from the parish in World War II were added to the Memorial.
The Girls’ Infants School building was added in 1930 with its foundation stone laid by Dr Mostyn, Archbishop of Cardiff.
In 1932 the Canon Louis Mooney was appointed parish priest, the first secular priest and first appointment to come from outside the Benedictine Order to serve in the Parish of St Joseph.
On 17th February 1987 it was announced that a third Diocese in Wales was to be created. Bishop Daniel Mullins, Auxiliary Bishop in Cardiff, was to take possession of the new see and the Church of St Joseph, Swansea was to be his Cathedral.
Work on the Church of St Joseph began once again to prepare for its elevation to Cathedral. The Sanctuary was extended forward with the High Altar re-modelled and placed in a new position. The Cathedra was installed where the High Altar had previously stood along with the surrounding presbyterium.
Bishop Daniel Mullins was enthroned as Bishop of the newly inaugurated Diocese of Menevia at the Cathedral Church of St Joseph on 19th March, 1987.
Today, the Cathedral stands as the Mother Church to the Diocese of Menevia and is an outstanding symbol of the Catholic Faith in Wales’ second city.
