Good Shepherd Cathedral, Ayr
Encyclopedia
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
, South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
was the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Galloway Diocese.
History
The Church of the Good Shepherd was opened in 1957, to serve the communities of Whitletts, Dalmilling, Lochside and Braehead areas of Ayr. Before the church was constructed the people in these areas worshipped at St. Margaret's Church, Ayr and Sunday mass was also said in Whitletts Community Centre.The church was a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
for four years until it was consecrated the cathedral for Galloway Diocese in 1961, after fire destroyed St. Andrew's Cathedral in Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
.
Only three bishops have had the Good Shepherd Cathedral as their seat: Bishop Joseph McGee (b.1912 - d.1981), Bishop Maurice Taylor
Maurice Taylor (Bishop)
Maurice Taylor was the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Galloway, Scotland from 1981 until 2004.Born in Hamilton, Lanarkshire he attended St Cuthbert's Primary, Burnbank, before going on to St...
his successor, who was Bishop from 1981 till 2004, and the present Bishop, John Cunningham
John Cunningham (Bishop)
John Cunningham is a Roman Catholic priest who is the current Bishop of Galloway.John Cunningham was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland on 22 February 1938. He was educated at St Mary's College, Blairs and St. Peter's Seminary, Cardross. Later he was a student of the Scots College, Rome...
. Bishop Cunningham's was the first Episcopal Ordination to be held in the Cathedral on the 28 May 2004.
The last Mass was said in the Good Shepherd Cathedral on 20 May 2007. This is a result of falling attendance.
The Cathedral for Galloway Diocese is St Margaret's Cathedral, Ayr.