Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral marks 50th anniversary

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral was designed by architect Frederick Gibberd

The 50th anniversary of Liverpool's landmark Metropolitan Cathedral has been celebrated.

The cathedral hosted a Mass by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Later there will be a special service attended by leaders of all of Merseyside's Christian churches.

The church was consecrated on 14 May 1967, but its opening is celebrated annually during Pentecost, which moves each year in line with when Easter is.

Cardinal Nichols began his ministry on Merseyside in 1969

The cathedral was designed by architect Frederick Gibberd, who was also responsible for Didcot Power Station and London Central Mosque, and attracts more than 350,000 visitors a year.

Liverpool Archbishop Malcolm McMahon said the building "strikes the eye as it reaches towards the sky".

"Sir Frederick's very modern design speaks of the hopes of the Catholic people of Liverpool soaring upwards to heaven," he added.

Cardinal Nichols, who was born in nearby Crosby, began his ministry in the area and was ordained as a priest to the Archdiocese of Liverpool in 1969.