Liverpool Cathedral has been open for worship services and private prayer and reflection since April 12th (Monday to Sunday from 11am – 3pm), and expects to open fully to visitors on or around May 17th, in line with the Government’s roadmap to lifting lockdown restrictions.
While the wait to visit one of the city’s most popular landmarks in person goes on, the Cathedral has recorded a virtual tour consisting of a series of videos that encompass all the building’s most important points of interest. These include the magnificent latest art installation in the Derby Transept, “The Outraged Christ” by Charles Lutyens, the iconic Lady Chapel, the Children’s Chapel, the High Altar, the Corona Gallery, the Memorial Chapel and the great Benedictine Window:
https://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/home/encounter-a-virtual-cathedral.aspx
Many will be unaware that the Cathedral also hosts a collection of paintings and sculpture by some most distinguished artists of the 20th and 21 centuries, including five Royal Academicians: Tracey Emin, Craigie Aitchison, Elisabeth Frink, Christopher Le Brun and Adrian Wiszniewski.
Cathedrals and churches have always been important patrons of visual art which during earlier times, with mostly illiterate congregations, was a powerful means of communication, education, and spiritual inspiration and reflection. While modern audiences may draw different messages, the tradition has persisted to this day, with Liverpool Cathedral continuing to commission artworks from some of the most eminent contemporary artists, which are displayed throughout the building.
We would like to wish our friends at Liverpool Cathedral the very best for the impending full reopening in a little over two weeks, and hope and pray that the door’s of one of Liverpool’s greatest institutions will now permanently remain open for both the faithful and the curious.