About Saint Mary of the Isle Co-Cathedral:
The first Catholic Chapel on the Island to be constructed after the the Reformation was built by Father Miles McPharlan who was in situation from 1803 to 1820, on land which was gifted to the church by Lieutenant Colonel John Taubman Goldie-Taubman, Speaker of the House of Keys. Father McPharlan was succeeded in 1820 by Fr. Matthew Gahan who arrived from Dublin, and who opened the church of St. Mary, at Castletown, then the capital of the Isle of Man, in 1826. However by the 1850s Douglas was far outstripping Castletown both in population and civic importance, it thereby becoming apparent that a larger church was required which would be situated in the center of the town.
Fr. Gahan was highly industrious in raising the required funds, and the foundation stone of St. Mary’s was laid by the Right Reverend Dr. Alexander Goss, Bishop of Liverpool, on October 28, 1857, and was opened for worship on August 4, 1859.
As part of the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022, Douglas was awarded city status.
In 2023, Pope Francis granted cathedral status to the Church of Saint Mary of the Isle, and it is now a co-cathedral along with the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool, and is the first Catholic co-cathedral in the British Isles.(Although rare in the Catholic Church, co-cathedrals exist when two dioceses, each with its own cathedral, are merged……..or when a single diocese spans two distinct civil jurisdictions).
St Mary of the Isle is a regular venue for civic occasions such as the Isle of Man Government Christmas Carol Service and the annual Holocaust Memorial Service. These are attended by the Chief Minister and his cabinet along with the Island’s Lieutenant Governor and civic leaders and officials.
The cathedral organ is over 100 years old, and was restored in 2006 by Peter Jones.
Traveling to Saint Mary of the Isle Co-Cathedral on the Isle of Man:
Address: Hill Street, Douglas, IM1 1EG
Tel: 01624 675509
Email: saintmaryiom@rcaol.org.uk