NEW ARTWORKS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPEL
30 Jan, 2012
On Thursday 2 February Archbishop Kelly dedicated the new items of altar furnishings that have been designed for the chapel. The new altar cross and candlesticks as well as an ambo have been completed to link with the external and internal glass work throughout the Cathedral. They are the conclusion of a body of work by the German glass artist Raphael Seitz and create a visual link between the celebration of the Eucharist and our witness to Christ in the world (symbolised by the exterior glass steles or columns at the four approaches to the cathedral).
The reredos, tabernacle and coloured windows were the work of the late Ceri Richards, a Welsh artist and installed in 1967. The large triangular windows with their yellow, blue and green tones cast wonderful patterns of light over the great space of the sanctuary. At night time they are illuminated from within. A bronze figure of the risen Christ is the work of Liverpool sculptor Arthur Dooley.
The great rear wall of the sanctuary is of Portland stone, as used for the exterior cladding of the chapel walls, except that here it is roach-bed stone from the very bottom of the quarry. It is too soft for exterior use but the crevices and indentations are fossils in this stone which is millions of years old. Many visitors are surprised when told this, believing that the wall is of man made material.
The altar cross and candlesticks that have been in use for some time belong to the Lady Chapel and were donated by the Catholic Nurses Guild of England and Wales in 1967 and their use in the Sacrament Chapel was temporary. This silver cross was designed by Elizabeth Frink, a renowned English artist, who also designed the high altar crucifix. The two candlesticks are the work of Englishman David Mellor, well known for his cutlery designs. The madonna above the altar is a ceramic sculpture by Yorkshire born Robert Brumby.