HRH The Duke of Kent visits Down Cathedral
HRH The Duke of Kent has visited Down Cathedral as part of a 2 day visit to County Down. He was accompanied by The Lord Lieutenant, Mr David Lindsay.
The Duke’s arrival marked the second royal visit to the cathedral in 77 years, following that of HRH The Earl of Wessex in September 2014.
Mrs Sally King, Deputy Lord Lieutenant and a parishioner of Kilmore and Inch, greeted His Royal Highness and he was welcomed to the cathedral by the Dean of Down, The Very Revd Henry Hull.
Also presented to the Duke were the High Sheriff of Down, Mr Hal Catherwood and his wife Natasha; Cllr Roisin Mulgrew, Chairperson of Newry Mourne and Down District Council; Mrs Dorinnia Carville, Director of Corporate Services, Newry Mourne and Down District Council; the Rt Revd Harold Miller, Bishop of Down and Dromore, and Mrs Geraldine Hull.
In the narthex, the Duke also met some of the Cathedral Chapter and staff, members of the congregation and local clergy.
Dean Hull gave a brief history of the cathedral which has an important place in the life of the diocese and also welcomes many tourists. Its location has been a centre of Christian worship since the 8th Century and includes the site of St Patrick’s grave.
The visitors also enjoyed the building’s marvellous acoustics with a short recital from organ scholar, Matthew Greenaway, who played ‘Paean’ by Philip Moore.
Bishop Harold added his welcome and noted that the Duke holds the title Baron of Downpatrick and shares the name Patrick with our patron saint. The bishop then read a passage from St Patrick’s Confession and led 2 short prayers.
He invited the Duke to lay a wreath on the granite stone in the adjacent churchyard which marks St Patrick’s burial place.
Speaking after the visit Dean Hull said:
“It was a real pleasure to welcome HRH the Duke of Kent to Down Cathedral today. The Duke once held the title Lord Downpatrick which has now been passed to his grandson, who also visited the Cathedral some months ago.
“The Duke was particularly interested in the ecumenical dimension to the Cathedral’s ministry and I had the pleasure of introducing him to clergy representing all the churches in Downpatrick, as well as the Benedictine monks from Holy Cross Monastery Rostrevor with whom we have a close relationship.”