Coventry Cathedral: Ghosts in the Ruins

During the Second World War and specifically, on 14th November 1940, the city of Coventry went under attack from bombs dropped by the German Air Force, known as the Luftwaffe. Throughout the whole city, homes were destroyed and there was mass amount of damage across the city; the most notable damage was caused to the city’s cathedral, a monument that had stood since the early 20th century. Rather than sweeping away the destroyed remains and forgetting about the loss of the Coventry Cathedral, the people of Coventry decided to build a new cathedral and keep certain aspects of the old cathedral, in order to be a constant reminder of the waste of war. On 25th May 1963, her majesty Queen Elizabeth II consecrated the new Coventry Cathedral, which is where a church or cathedral is made or declared as sacred. Ever since then, the Coventry Cathedral has become a monument and well-recognised landmark of the city, spreading peace and reconciliation across not just the country, but the entire world; in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the opening of the new Coventry Cathedral, a performance is taking place to mark this.

Named as “Ghosts in the Ruins”, the event will reflect the city as being a place of sanctuary and its stand against war and violence. It will also explore themes such as acceptance, hope, regeneration and many more. The overall performance is split into 2 parts, with part 1 taking place within the modern cathedral setting and part 2 moving over to the ruins of the old cathedral. The performance includes a combination of traditional cathedral and community singers all under the leadership of Coventry Cathedral’s Director of Music Rachel Mahon. The events starts on Thursday 27th January 2022 and runs until Saturday 29th January 2022. For more information and to book tickets, you can visit: www.coventrycathedral.org.uk