Cherie's Place

…The Cathedral of Our Lady and Saint Philip Howard

My previous posts explained what happened to the Arundel church building after King Henry VIII parted from the Church of Rome and declared himself Head of The Church of England. Despite Henry’s actions Catholic missionary priests were able to continue their teachings in Arundel:

The reign of King Henry VIII saw traumatic change with the dissolution of the monasteries and religious houses. In 1544 the College was dissolved and in 1558 the old Catholic hierarchy came to an end. It was from this time until 1748 that Arundel was served in secret from Slindon House, in a neighbouring parish, where missionary priests were provided by the Kemp family. From 1748 there commences list of reinstated Catholic chaplains who served the domestic chapel which had been reinstated in  Arundel Castle; they also served the Catholic population of Arundel until 1850, when the Catholic hierarchy was re-established and a rector of the parish appointed once more.*

The old chapel of the College throughout all these vicissitudes remained in Catholic hands; it is now called the Fitzalan Chapel and is where Requiem Masses are still offered for the founder of the Cathedral and all those buried in its vaults. It forms the chancel of the old parish church and, despite the sorrows of the Reformation, it is an enduring witness to Catholic continuity. Although divided from the now Anglican Church by a 14th-century grille and latterly a glass screen, this in no way implies a division in faith, but rather a protection of the privacy of what has always been a private chapel. It was from this chapel in 1971 that the mortal remains of St Philip Howard were brought to be enshrined in the cathedral which now proudly claims him as patron.*

This great church owes its existence to the generosity and foresight of Henry, 15th Duke of Norfolk, the Earl Marshal, who commissioned the building in 1869. The architect was Joseph Aloysius Hansom.

The church opened on the 1st July 1873 as the Catholic Parish Church of Arundel. It was originally dedicated to St. Philip Neri but when the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton was created in 1935 the church became the Cathedral of our Lady and St. Philip. In 1971 the remains of the martyred 13th Earl of Arundel, St. Philip Howard (1557-1595) were enshrined in the Cathedral and the dedication was changed to the present one of Our Lady and St. Philip Howard.**

* From the Arundel Cathedral guidebook

** From a welcome message on entry to the Cathedral

Tags: Arundel Cathedral, Arundel House Hotel, Vacation, West Sussex