The former parish church of St Mirin,[2] it is situated in Incle Street, Paisley, at the junction with Glasgow Road and was completed in 1931 close to the site of the original church of the same name which dated from 1808. The original building was the first stone-built Roman Catholic church in post-ReformationScotland.[3] It was formally opened in a solemn mass in 1932 which was attended by the archbishops of Glasgow and Edinburgh and the bishop of Galloway along with various members of local clergy and parishioners. Also in attendance were the local provost Gault, magistrates and councillors who were joined by at least two thousand onlookers who lined the streets outside the newly opened church. Irish nationalist politician Joe Devlin MP also attended the solemn mass.[4] The present building was raised to cathedral status in 1948 following the erection of the diocese in 1947.[5][6]
The building is neo-Romanesque in style with a plain sandstone exterior and an airy arched interior: its architect was Thomas Baird. The chancel is principally of Italianmarble. Excluding the chancel, the cathedral is 109 feet (33 metres) in length and has a breadth of 48.5 feet (14.8 metres). The chancel itself is 29.5 feet (9.0 metres) in width by 23.25 feet (7.09 metres) in depth and is semi-octagonal in form.
Of particular interest is the pulpit by Gillespie, Kidd and Coia, with a representation of the Sermon on the Mount sculpted in relief from blond sandstone bearing the following inscriptions in Latin from the Letter of Saint James: In mansuetudine suscipite insitum verbum quod potest salvare animas vestras (Receive humbly the word that has been placed within you which can save your souls) and Estote autem factores verbi et non auditores (Be doers of the word and not hearers only).
In the apse four colourful tripartite stained glass windows depict twelve angels each of whom bears a symbol drawn from the Bible. Below them is a Latin inscription alluding to the Eucharist: Panis Angelicus Fit Panis Hominum Dat Panis Coelicus Figuris Terminum.
In the former baptistry to the north side of the vestibule is a stained-glass window depicting Jesus with children by Charles Baillie, while a shrine to St John Ogilvie by Norman Galbraith can be found on the south side.
The church, which is the largest in the diocese, can accommodate around 1300 worshippers.
Opposite the cathedral, at the junction of Incle Street with Gauze Street and Glasgow Road, stands a bronzestatue of St Mirin by Norman Galbraith which was completed and unveiled in 2,007 in (51.0 m)odifications to the main entrance, porch and frontage of the cathedral were completed.
Clergy
Customarily a cathedral, as the seat of the bishop, has him as its nominal parish priest. However, to oversee the running of the cathedral and its parish there is an administrator, currently Monsignor Joseph Burke.[7]
