New Dean celebrates return to Shrewsbury's Catholic Cathedral

Canon Christopher Matthews, 43, has day-to-day responsibility for the running of the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Town Walls.

“Returning to Shrewsbury had not been on my radar,” said the very reverend Christopher. “The Bishop phoned me in February and asked me if I would like to return as the dean.

“It is unusual for a priest to go back but I did not want to say no to the bishop!”

Canon Matthews served as a member of the cathedral’s clergy team from 2007 to 2014 before serving in South Manchester and then in Birkenhead.

“I am looking forward to sharing in the lives of the people of Shrewsbury again, in their good times and their bad times,” he said.

“The work of a priest sees the same situations in whichever setting.

“I have been back for two weeks and I am thoroughly engaged in getting to know the people. I am at the stage where I know some of the faces but I am forgetting names!”

The weekend flower display and cream tea event - the first since the ending of lockdown - at the cathedral’s Orchard Cafe also gave parishioners the chance to gain confidence in attending events again.

It also marked the return of the cafe’s much missed Sunday roasts, and a chance to celebrate the virtual Shrewsbury Flower Festival.

Visitors also had the chance to enjoy flowers supplied by Anne Whyshall, from Pontesbury.

Richard Keddie, the cathedral’s development officer said it doubled as an exercise in bringing the flock back to the cafe and into the cathedral for services.

People were able to ask questions about how services have been kept safe.

“We have seen the numbers at our services double,” said Mr Keddie.