The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall have visited Coventry Cathedral on the 59th anniversary of its consecration. The visit – at the beginning of Coventry’s year as the UK City of Culture – marked the definitive place of the cathedral in this city of peace and reconciliation.
The visit provided an opportunity for Their Royal Highnesses to commemorate the destruction of the Cathedral in 1940, to celebrate the consecration of the new Cathedral on 25th May 1962, and to recognise the Cathedral’s ministry of peace and reconciliation.
An act of thanksgiving for the new Cathedral included the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation. The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry, also gave a short reflection in which he said:
“The Consecration of Coventry Cathedral fifty-nine years ago took place in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen; and so it is a deep joy, Your Royal Highnesses, that you have graced us today with your presence.
Throughout decades of public service, His Royal Highness has been dedicated to the nurturing of understanding between peoples, to building peace in the world and to the restoration of hope among those who might despair.
Time does not allow me to pay proper tribute to those efforts to improve community relationships, deepen interfaith understanding, and raise the aspirations and life-chances of young people. But, if I may, I would like to draw attention to the way – in the Balkans, in Northern Ireland, in the Holy Land and elsewhere – His Royal Highness has spoken poignantly about the futility of vengeance, the need for enemies to build bridges that reach out to each other so that they may become friends, and the power of forgiveness.
These principles lie at the heart of the ministry of Coventry Cathedral.”
Read the full text of Bishop Christopher's reflection
Starting in the Cathedral ruins, the Bishop and Dean tell Their Royal Highnesses tell the
Coventry story of peace and reconciliation.
The Cathedral font is was hewn from a rock near Bethlehem