The Isle of Man, a small British Crown Dependency located between Ireland and Great Britain, will receive a Catholic cathedral for the first time in the predominantly Anglican island’s history. Source: Crux.
The church of Saint Mary of the Isle, located in the city of Douglas, has been granted cathedral status, and will be a co-cathedral for the Liverpool Archdiocese alongside the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, and will be the first Catholic cathedral in the British Isles.
There are 84,000 people on the Isle of Man, about 53 per cent of whom are Christian, and only a small number are Catholic, attending six churches.
Though not belonging to the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man forms part of the Liverpool Archdiocese, with most Catholics either being Irish or of Irish descent, thanks largely to historic trading routes.
“It is with great joy that St Mary of the Isle has been granted cathedral status,” said Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool.
“The Isle of Man is a significant part of our archdiocese; it constitutes one third of its land mass and the island’s Catholic community has increasing diversity with parishioners coming from many different parts of the world. It is fantastic that we can acknowledge this with the announcement of a co-cathedral – a status that is rare in the Catholic Church. It is something that everyone on the island will take great pride in,” he said in a statement.
Anglican Bishop of Sodor and Man, Right Revered Peter Eagles, said the new Catholic cathedral represented the “strong ecumenical relationships” present on the Isle of Man.
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Overwhelmingly Anglican Isle of Man to get first Catholic cathedral (By Charles Collins, Crux)
