St Mary's to be declared interim Cathedral

A significant milestone in the history of St Mary's Church in Athlone will be reached this weekend. At 11.30am Mass on Sunday, Bishop Colm O'Reilly will inaugurate the Church as the interim Cathedral for the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois. St Mary's will serve as interim Cathedral during what's expected to be a lengthy reconstruction of the fire-damaged St Mel's Cathedral in Longford. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, Bishop Colm said, “While we wouldn't be doing this if St Mel's hadn't been damaged, I felt that the Diocese had to have a 'Mother Church' for certain special occasions. St Mary's was the one which immediately came to mind as being suited to this purpose.†Bishop Colm said the formal inauguration of the Church as interim Cathedral would consist of “a simple ritual or celebration†centring on the arrival in St Mary's of a Bishop's chair which had been used at St Mel's from the 1890s to the 1970s. “The chair will be a symbol of the unity of Church and Diocese,†he said. The Church is unlikely to require any significant physical alterations as a result of its new status. “We're in the happy position of the Church being in very good shape. Since its last restoration it has been wearing very well. In time there might be a few things that will come up, but I don't think it will require any significant work.†The reconstruction of St Mel's Cathedral -- which was severely damaged by fire last Christmas -- is expected to take approximately four years to complete. A message in the St Mary's parish bulletin last weekend stated: “The choice of St. Mary's as the interim Cathedral is a very special honour for our parish Church and we look forward to hosting various Diocesan liturgies and events until the reconstruction of St Mel's Cathedral in Longford.â€