Description: We managed to see a few churches during our short visit to Edinburgh this year. One of the smaller churches was St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral which is often called the Metropolitan Cathedral. This interesting building came into view when we we left St James' Shopping Centre. Across the road from the church are some fascinating street sculptures which my husband really liked and spent time looking at them while I went inside the church.

To reach the main entrance of the church you have to walk up several wide stone steps. The main door is made from wood with glass windows set inside a grey stone, decorated arch. Above the door is a huge stained glass window with two similar windows set at the side but not as large. In 1814 a chapel sat in the same place and was called the Chapel of St Mary's. James Gillespie Graham was the designer. Looking at the design of the church now, I can see that there have been many changes, like the low extension with a flat roof which was finished in the 1970s.

From what I have read about the cathedral it is an important structure in the city because it is the Mother Church of Scottish Catholicism and it was here where Pope John Paul II visited during his pastoral visit to Scotland in 1982.
Inside, the building is very large and open with a high ceiling and many stained glass windows of different sizes, situated all around the church. When I stood at the entrance the first thing I noticed was the amount of wood in the church. There are rows and rows of wooden, ladder back chairs packed closely together, these reminded me of the chairs I sat on when I was a child at Infant School. Along one side of the church are wooden cupboards that look like they are made from solid oak. On the other side are paintings of religious themes that have been inlaid into wooden frames. I loved all the stone arches made of clean, soft stone. To say this is a Catholic Church I didn't think the furnishings and artifacts were outlandish. The altar is set back underneath an arched area with a vaulted ceiling. The paintings of angels above the altar create a dreamy pastel heavenly scene that is kitsch but adds colour to that area of the church. There are statues and paintings of Jesus Christ within the church on either side of the rows of chairs. The morning was quite bright when we visited and the light shone through the windows a great deal, this is a good thing as the church felt filled with light and wasn't grim at all.

There is a Café and Parish Hall adjacent to the cathedral. This is a vast area which can be hired out for special occasions. The café is called Café Camino, a meeting place for fellow worshippers but also visitors and residents of Edinburgh. I didn't stop to eat as I had already eaten a bacon sandwich but I noticed that the food marked up on the board was 'good down to earth cooking,' featuring delicious homemade soups, salads, jacket potatoes, cooked breakfasts, cakes and biscuits. Wine, beer and cider are listed on the menu as well as soft drinks, Fair-trade tea and coffee. If you need to use your laptop Wi-Fi is available, there is also good wheelchair access.

I enjoyed my visit to St Mary's Cathedral. I wish we had had more time to spend there and we could have had lunch in the café but as always I wanted to pack as many sights and attractions into such a short time so we had to move on.

The manager and administrator is Michael Regan, his contact address is:
Cathedral House
61 York Place
Edinburgh EH1 3JD

Tel: 0131 556 1798

Fax: 0131 556 4281

Email: cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk
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