St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is a Roman Catholic church located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, and the mother church of Scots Catholicism.HistoryThe Chapel of St Mary's was opened in 1814, and was originally designed by James Gillespie Graham. The church was considerably embellished over the years, and in 1878 on the restoration of the Scottish hierarchy it became the pro-cathedral of the new Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. It was renamed the Metropolitan Cathedral on 5 July 1886 with all the rights and privileges appertaining to such a Church. The contains the National Shrine of St. Andrew.The cathedral has been enlarged, rebuilt and remodelled many times over the years, with the last major structural changes commencing in the 1970s. Pope John Paul II visited St Mary's in May 1982 as part of his pastoral visit to Scotland.Concerts, recitals and theatre pieces are held in the building during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each August.PresentMgr Patrick Burke, VG (administrator); Fr Nick Welsh Fr Tadeusz Puton SAC (non-resident), Chaplain of the Polish MissionCafe CaminoThe cathedral operates a cafe in an adjoining building. It is used as a venue as part of the Free Fringe at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.