Cathedral Record

Canon Anthony O’Brien –Cathedral Dean

There is an evening Mass here on the Eve of the Coronation, Friday 5 May, at 5.00 pm to pray for our new King Charles III. Bishop Tom Neylon will preside at this Mass with the Lord Mayor and Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside in attendance. All are welcome to this Mass to begin what will be a Bank Holiday of ceremonial and celebration.

Do you know a child who would like to be a chorister at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King here in Liverpool?

The search is now on for our next generation of Boy and Girl choristers.

There are three main elements to our chorister recruitment. Firstly our ‘Chorister Experience Sessions’: taster sessions which are designed to see if a child enjoys group singing and are an excellent way to refine the skills required to audition for the Cathedral Choir. These sessions run on 16, 23 May and 6 June.

Secondly, our ‘Be a Chorister for a Day’ event (Sunday 11 June) which gives boys and girls and their parents the opportunity to come and experience chorister life ‘from the inside.’ During the day they get to sing with the choristers, rehearse with them, try on cassocks and sing alongside the Cathedral Choir at Choral Evening Prayer.

The third element of our recruitment is the ‘Voice Trials’ which take place in late June. These are the auditions (think of X Factor, but without Simon Cowell!) where individual aspirants are put through their paces in singing songs, tests etc. At this stage we look for potential, rather than fully formed musicians. As we are fortunate to get good numbers applying each year, entry to the choirs is competitive, but for those that are successful, the chance of a lifetime awaits.

All our choristers are educated at our two choir schools: Runnymede St Edward’s Catholic Primary School (age 7-11) and St Edward’s College (age 11-15).

If you know of a Catholic family who might be interested in this wonderful opportunity, please share this information with them. For full details of choristerships at the Metropolitan Cathedral, scan the QR code, or go to: www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/ music/joining-the-choirs/

Following this the celebrations continue on Merseyside with the final build up to the Eurovision Song Contest Final. There are Vigil Prayer Services throughout the week in some of the main city centre churches to offer some opportunities for quiet reflection and prayer away from all the activity and crowds both for those taking part and those fans who will be here. There is an Ecumenical Songs of Praise here at our Cathedral on Wednesday Evening 10 May at 7.00 pm entitled ‘United in Peace’. This will feature music accompanied by the Salvation Army Band, a contemporary Methodist Music Group and Choral Music from our Joint Cathedral Choirs and plenty of congregational singing. It will be an evening of coming together in joyful praise to pray for an end to the war in Ukraine and for peace throughout the world.

There is a Mass on Wednesday 17 May at 7.00 pm to mark the retirement of Bishop Tom Williams as Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese. This is an opportunity to mark the end of Bishop Tom’s official role and responsibilities as Auxiliary with thanksgiving even though he will still function as a retired bishop within the archdiocese.

Archbishop Malcolm will be joining us for the Celebration of our anniversary Feast of Pentecost on Sunday 28 May, 56 years after the Cathedral first opened. The Annual Two Cathedrals afternoon Pentecost Service begins at Liverpool Cathedral at 3.00 pm followed by a procession to finish on the steps of our Cathedral followed by a picnic on the steps. The new Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, Rev John Perumbalath, will give a short address at the first part of the service.