Have you ever wondered why St Mary’s Street is so called? Have you even realised that one of Cardiff’s main streets is dedicated to the Mother of God? I’m not sure what she thinks of it now – especially on weekend evenings…

Many will know that the reason for the street’s name is the fact that the original (ie Catholic) parish church of Cardiff was called St Mary’s. It was located down the far end, roughly where Wetherspoon’s/ The Prince of Wales is now. For several hundred years in the Middle Ages it was served by Benedictine Monks from Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire, founded by the original (Norman) lords of Cardiff.

Unfortunately it was built very close to the river Taff, which flowed much closer to the town then, roughly where Westgate Street is. Slowly, over the centuries, first the churchyard and then the church itself were swept away by the river. By now, of course it was in the hands of the Anglicans, and St John’s had become the main church of the town.

When the St Mary’s church was rebuilt, it was located further south in Bute Street, where it still stands, known as St Mary the Virgin. William Wordsworth was commissioned to write a sonnet to fundraise for it! If you go inside the church, at the back you will find a plaque with a list of the parish priests going back into those medieval times. When I was pp down at St Cuthbert’s in the early 80’s, and enjoyed good relations with the vicar, I used to pull his leg – but with a more serious glint in my eye – that, er, the line of succession went a bit haywire around the 16th century!

So next time you are in St Mary Street spare a thought for our Catholic forbears who celebrated the Mass and sacraments there – and perhaps say a prayer to Our Blessed Lady for the city, as she must have a special place in her heart for anywhere that dedicated its main church to her.

Fr Matthew