St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral

Venue details
Street
61 York Place
Postcode
EH1 3JD
Edinburgh Area
Telephone (info)
0131 556 1798
Fringe Venue
86
About the venue

An impressive building at the top of Leith Walk, St Mary's is the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

The metropolitcan cathedral in Edinburgh opened in 1814, after the previous Chapel at Blackfriars' Wynd had been burned down by a mob. The new Broughton location was considered safer due to its proximity to other buildings.

Designed by prominent ecclesiastical architect, James Gillespie Graham, it has been significantly modified over the years.

The National Shrine to St Andrew can be found here. It has a large portion of the shoulder bone of Scotland's patron saint, received by the Archbishop Strain from the Archbishop of Amalfi in 1879 and another relic given by Pope Paul VI to Cardinal Gray in 1969. 

A prominent feature of the Cathedral interior is the painting surmounting the Sanctuary Arch, of the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven, the work of the Belgian artist, Louis Beyart.

The cathedral has an impressive 4,000-piped Matthew Copley organ, installed in 2008. The Schola Cantorum sings weekly at the 12pm Sunday Mass. The ensemble covers a range of sacred art music, from plainchant and Renaissance polyphony to newly composed works.

As well as regular services, St Mary's hosts various spiritual and social events, including musical recitals. It holds a special mass each August to mark the Edinburgh International Festival.

Map

55.956021, -3.187842