This is a copy of the original wooden cross in the British Museum. It is made from pieces of a boat that was wrecked off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy in 2013. The vertical and horiziontal pieces are joined with a cross halved joint. The cross piece retains scuffed blue paint on the front, upper and lower surfaces. A fragment of an iron nail survives at the top in the right side of the cross piece. The back of the cross piece is signed F. Tuccio, Lampedusa. PLAN
22. SACRED HEART, DIVINE MERCY
Here we have two depictions of the love and light of God shown through Christ. This statue of the Sacred Heart was sculpted in Italy by Formilli and unveiled in 1922. At right we see ‘The Divine Mercy of Jesus’, also known as ‘The Divine Mercy’ – a Roman Catholic devotion to Jesus Christ associated with the reputed apparitions of Jesus to St Faustina Kowalska.
23. NORTH AISLE LOOKING EAST
There are further small chapels along this side of the Cathedral. It is unclear whether these small spaces are to be designated as chapels or shrines. The Cathedral literature overcomes this problem by not giving them a name at all! Here we look Eastwards along the North nave aisle.
25. PIETÀ WINDOW
This chapel also has a set of small stained glass windows. These have a crucifixion theme, with at centre the head of Jesus crowned with thorns, and an angel on either side. Each angel carries a shield. The shield at left depicts a crown of thorns, the shield at right three nails.
26. WAR MEMORIAL
The War Memorial in the base of the tower was designed by Formilli in 1920. At the entrance is a statue of Our Lady, installed in memory of soldier Rowland Richardson who was killed in 1918. The altar is in memory of Lieutenant W H Coghlan who was killed in action in the first weeks of the 1914-18 War.
27. CHAPEL GATE AND ALTAR
The chapel gate contains the well-known Christian acronyms Chi-Rho and IHS for Christ. On the walls of the chapel, although not shown here, are three tablets containing 180 names of men from the Cathedral who were killed in WWI. Directly above the altar is the foundation stone of the Cathedral laid on 16 July, 1902.
28. NORTH TRANSEPT
Directly adjacent to the War Memorial is the shallow North transept. We notice the large crucifix at left, four more stations of the cross, the two long stained glass windows, and the archways leading to two chapels at right. The windows date from 1927–29, and are by the Leeds firm Kayll and Reed. The left window depicts the Resurrection, the right window the Crucifixion, the Annunciation and the Circumcision.
29. TRANSEPT CRUCIFIX
This large Crucifix is attached to the West wall of the transept. Collectively referred to as the Passion, Jesus’ suffering and redemptive death by crucifixion are the central aspects of Christian theology concerning the doctrines of salvation and atonement..
30. NORTH TRANSEPT STATIONS OF THE CROSS
A further four of the stations of the cross are found in the North transept. Here we see stations IV – I. In reverse order these are: I Jesus is condemned to death; II Jesus carries His cross; III Jesus falls the first time; IV Jesus meets his mother.
31. SOUTH TRANSEPT
Looking all the way across the nave, we can view the South transept on the other side. The stained glass windows originate from an earlier unknown church, and were installed in the inter-war years. The left window depicts Christ’s Temptation in the Desert, and the right shows a representation of the Transfiguration.
32. SOUTH TRANSEPT STATIONS OF THE CROSS
The final four stations of the cross, XIV – XI, are found in the South transept. These are, in reverse order: XI Jesus is nailed to the cross; XII Jesus dies on the cross; XIII The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross; XIV Jesus is laid in the tomb.
33. CONFESSIONALS
The Confessionals were designed for the Cathedral as part of the 2006 restoration scheme. They allow confession in the traditional manner, and also face to face. The external glass walls have a flowing water pattern which gives some privacy to the occupants of the Confessional. Interestingly, some Catholic churches and cathedrals now use the term ‘Reconciliation Room’ for the Confessional.
34. SOUTH NAVE AISLE LOOKING EAST
The South nave aisle leads past an area acknowledging the Yorkshire Martyrs, the Confessionals, the South transept, and leads directly to the Lady Chapel. The figure in the niche at left is above the archway into the Lady Chapel. This is a statue of Our Lady Immaculate by Boulton of Cheltenham, and was installed in 1933.
35. YORKSHIRE MARTYRS
This final ‘chapel’ on the South side was originally the Shrine of St Urban, but is now given over to The Yorkshire Martyrs. A painting with numbers shows 14 Catholic men of Yorkshire who were martyred for their faith. Their deaths occurred round about 1600. The information sheet provides brief details of these martyrs and the circumstances of their deaths.
36. NORTHEAST CHAPELS
We have now explored the nave and transepts, and the various side chapels off the nave. There are further interesting chapels which open off the Eastern side of the two transepts. Returning to the North transept, there are archways leading to the Chapel of St Joseph on the left, and to the Sacred Heart Chapel on the right.
37. CHAPEL OF ST JOSEPH
The Chapel of St Joseph was designed by architect Eastwood and executed by H H Martyn of Cheltenham in 1904. It was a gift to the Cathedral by mine owner John Warrington of Normanton. The gift is acknowledged on the brass plate to the left of the altar. The altar and reredos depict scenes from the life of St Joseph and the Holy Family.
38. SACRED HEART CHAPEL
Next to the St Joseph Chapel is the Sacred Heart Chapel, designed by Greenslade and executed by Nathaniel Hitch in 1904. The marble altar includes an alabaster panel depicting the Last Supper, and the reredos has the Sacred Heart in the centre with images of Moses and the Crucifixion to the sides. The altar was donated by Peter O’Hara, a businessman from Leeds.
39. OUR LADY SHRINE
We move across to the South transept, and look at the East wall. In the corner is Eastwood’s shrine to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, who is the patroness of the Diocese of Leeds. It was completed in 1913. It was a bequest to the Cathedral by Canon Croskell, who placed above the icon of Our Lady his own patron saint, Charles Borromeo!
