2016-08-06 Northampton Cathedral (Feast of Transfiguration)

We arrived Saturday, the Feast of the Transfiguration and since I have not gone to mass, we went to the anticipated mass for Sunday.

Northampton Cathedral Main Altar

The Cathedral is about half an hour walk from my daughter's place. It is an old cathedral dedicated to St Thomas Becket and our Lady.

St Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury and was murdered in 1119 when he got into conflict against Henry II over the rights of the Church. Apparently, he came to exile in Northampton.

St Thomas Becket

My first impression of the Cathedral is that it is a nice church for a small community. It has history and it has an old style look. The altar and the backdrop of the altar looks interesting. The statues of our Lady and St Thomas adorn the two front pillars of the church. It is interesting that St Thomas' statue has a sword running through his head. I would guess this was how he died.

The cathedral also has a side chapel where the Tabernacle is kept. It is quite handy because one can adore the Lord quietly. One of the things that I find interesting is the pillars of the church has faces of saints carved into the pillar I am not sure who those faces are.

Side chapel of the Eucharist

The Anticipated mass was simple. There were not a lot of people who attended. After the mass, my son and I went to the town centre. We walked through the streets and saw an old Catholic church dating back to 1100's which was taken over during the Henry VIII split with the Church.

The town centre is what a small town centre would look like. Interesting is there is a church whose courtyard has a coffee shop. It is an Anglican church.