The Cathedral Tour: Coventry

The Cathedral Church of St Michael





A powerful impact here, created by the proximity of old and new buildings. The reconciliation theme is strongly communicated, and the new building is visually striking. Sitting and gazing at Piper's awesome baptistery window, we were approached by a friendly lay chaplain who listened to our story and commented that lots of people approach her just to say how much the Cathedral visit has meant to them.







The website says,
'To walk from the ruins of the old Cathedral into the splendour of the new is to walk from Good Friday to Easter, from the ravages of human destruction to the glorious hope of resurrection. Your heart is lifted, your spirit is renewed and you feel that there is hope for the world.
Thanks to God's mercy, reconciliation is possible.'

Turning back from the altar to see all the colour in the windows must be a remarkable experience - not one we had, as we were corralled in the prayer area, having concluded that the entry fee was just too much (£8 - and no services were being held at the time we visited. So at the entry desk, we said we were pilgrims who had come to pray, and were told, 'You can sit in the prayer area. No walking around'!)

Andrew Jones talks about each pilgrimage as having 'a moment of grace.' I wondered if for me this was what I didn't see at Coventry, but later realised was there; the sense I have in all my life of God as being present even if unseen, his colours infusing the building that is my life, even if I don't always see those until I look back, even if I never see them, but suspect that they are there!

Coventry had some beautiful modern art (including Graham Sutherland's remarkable 'Christ in Glory' tapestry). But unlike other Cathedrals we visited, this was all set in a huge modern building. Some of the most significant impact of contemporary paintings and sculptures was simply because they stopped us in our tracks - 'what is that new thing doing in old here?' as if to remind us there could be other surprising new things to see if we only kept our eyes open...

We noticed this commemorative stone gifted by Lichfield - a nice touch.