Liverpool’s Giant Roman Catholic Street Party

Let’s be honest, Scousers don’t tend to need an excuse for a party. From the desire to entertain and have a laugh with other people through to the desire to have a drink or two, the people of Liverpool love a good knees-up when the opportunity arises.

Even when the country was in lockdown because of the health crisis enveloping the world at the time, supporters of the Reds team on Merseyside took to the streets to celebrate the title win in 2020.

Even so, the Roman Catholics of Liverpool having a street party in 1967 will take some beating.

What Happened in 1967

It was the 14th of May 1967 and the five year build of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King was complete. Designed by Sir Edward Lutyens and Sir Frederick Gibberd, it was the second cathedral to be built in Liverpool after the Church of England’s Cathedral Church of Christ, which began construction in 1904 but wouldn’t actually open for another 11 years.

With Liverpool being a city filled with both protestants and Catholics, it is no surprise that the Catholic contingency wanted a house of worship of their own within it.

Hope Street, Liverpool and the Cathedral bells just before 11am Mass. pic.twitter.com/F4i536ZEGx

— Liverpool Vista (@LiverpoolVista) September 22, 2024

The opening of the new cathedral was seen as a thing worthy of celebration by the Roman Catholic contingency in the city, so they decided to host a street party in order to spread the word. Given the sheer number of Roman Catholics in Liverpool at the time, you can imagine it was quite a shindig.

The street party centre around St Andrews Gardens, the art deco-inspired building that is nowadays used as a student residence. Those living there turned out in huge numbers, celebrating the new cathedral with entertainment and theatre.

It Wasn’t Liverpool’s Only Street Party

Although street parties feel like a thing of the past nowadays, certainly in a bustling city centre like Liverpool, they were all the rage in decades gone by. Just 11 days after the Roman Catholics gathered to celebration the consecration of their new cathedral, hundreds hosted street parties of their own in order to celebrate Liverpool winning the FA Cup.

Although Liverpool wouldn’t be considered a location for stern Royalists in the modern era, there were countless street parties in 1953 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.

For the city’s Roman Catholic contingency, the opening of their new cathedral was a chance to get out and about and to show the rest of Liverpool what they were all about. Children sat around eating sandwiches and cakes whilst the adults shared a drink or two.

Bunting was strung across the street, with the cathedral itself looming over everything in the background. It might not have had the vim and vigour of the street parties held by Royalists or Liverpool supporters, but it was still a special occasions for all involved.