When I was in Belfast earlier this summer, I popped in to have a look at Belfast's Cathedral, St. Anne's. The cathedral is in the heart of the famous "Cathedral Quarter" (naturally...), opposite Writer's Square. It is a centre of artists and writers, and that is where it gets its name. The area was bombed extensively in the second World War, so many of the older buildings no longer exist and the cathedral took damage. Near the square was the headquarters of a newspaper that intercepted the American Declaration of Independence in 1776 and published it before England's king had word or sight of it.
Exterior of St. Anne's in Belfast with its large Celtic Cross, completed 1981
St. Anne's cathedral started to be built in 1899, so it is a relatively new cathedral. After the first World War, a new part of the cathedral was added in memory of the Ulster men and women who served. In addition, there are many plaques around the interior of the church to commemorate those and also to commemorate the victims of other wars. New architectural additions to the cathedral have been made throughout the 1900s and are as recent as 2007.
Interior of St. Anne's
The Baptistery, located near the entrance to the cathedral, has a beautiful ceiling decoration and beautiful stained glass windows.
Baptistery
The most recent edition to the cathedral was made in 2007 with its modern steel spire; the spire is 40 metres in length. It is known as "The Spire of Hope" and is illuminated at night. Visitors inside the cathedral can look up from the nave and see it. There's a photograph of it from the nave in the photograph below, and you can see part of the metal spire in the first photograph in this entry.
On the left-hand side as you enter the cathedral is the "Chapel of the Holy Spirit". It is dedicated to St. Patrick. In the photograph below, Saint Patrick is the middle figure, and the boat below is his with the Mourne Mountains in the distance on his way to bring Christianity to the people of Ireland.
"Spire of Hope" and "Chapel of Holy Spirit"
Stained glass windows
The cathedral also has a reputation of charity at Christmas. This started many years ago when the Dean of Belfast started a "sit out" on the stairs of the cathedral in the week leading up to Christmas to collect donations for local charities. He was nicknamed "Black Santa" because of the outfit he wore to keep warm. The tradition is still held every year before Christmas, the those who collect the charity are still called "Black Santa".
Facade of the cathedral from Writer's Square
I hope you enjoyed photographs of St. Anne's in Belfast.
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