The church was commissioned by Richard Thompson (1799-1866) who, with his father and uncle, had developed the local coal and iron industries in the 19th century. In the cloister is a tomb with an effigy of Ellen Thompson, Richard’s wife, who died of cholera in 1852.
Designed in the Gothic style attributable to the 13th Century, known as Early Decorated or Geometric, the style is characterised by the use of circles as the basis for its window tracery and by the sturdy columns topped with capitals carved with slightly stylised plants and animals.
Menevia had been erected as a diocese in 1898 by Pope Leo XIII and the church was chosen as the Episcopal seat. It was consecrated a pro-cathedral for the original Diocese of Menevia on the 7th November 1907, fifty years after its completion.
In 1987, Menevia was spilt by a decree of Saint John Paul II and the smaller Diocese of Wrexham was created. Wrexham takes in the North of Wales (Flintshire, Conwy, Gwynedd, Denbighshire, Anglesey and the northern part of Powys).
Significant alterations and additions were made to the church in 1957 and then again in 1966.
During the pilgrimage, we venerated the relics of local martyr, St. Richard Gwyn (c.1535-1584). A shrine to St Richard commemorates the local teacher, husband and father who was martyred in Wrexham’s Beast market in an age of religious intolerance. You can read more about St Richard here .
The LMS have previously held pilgrimages marked by a Low Mass around the time of St Richard’s feast on 17th October and yesterday marked a return to Wrexham after a number of years with a High Mass celebrated by Fr. Mark Kirby, prior of the Benedictine priory of Silverstream in Éire.
You can read Fr. Kirby's homily here.
In addition to the Summer School students who travelled up from their base at the Franciscan Retreat Centre at Pantasaph, there were about 30 pilgrims, making an estimated total of 60 assisting at Mass. A good number remained for veneration of the relic of St Richard and Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament after the short lunch interlude.
We hope to hold another pilgrimage in 2016.
My thanks go to the clergy – Fr. Mark Kirkby O.S.B., Abbé Cosme Montjean of the ICKSP who was deacon and seminarian Anthony Dorsa of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter as subdeacon, the servers, choir and Cathedral staff. In particular my thanks go to the Rt. Rev. Peter Brignall, the Bishop of Wrexham and Fr. Simon Treloar, Cathedral Dean for allowing us the use of the church.
Photographs by Alan Frost.