NEARER my God to thee: Diarmuid Martin, the archbishop of Dublin, has moved six inches closer to heaven following renovations to his throne at Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral.

Carpenters have elevated the archbishop’s seat to make Martin more visible to Mass-goers in the city’s most important Catholic church, known to generations of Dubliners as “the pro”.

The seat has also been draped in a banner bearing the crest of the Dublin diocese in the capital’s colours of blue and white.

“It’s just a visual thing,” said Fr Pat O’Donoghue, one of several parish priests who works in the Marlborough Street church. “The altar at the Pro-Cathedral is already quite high. Dermot Ryan, the former archbishop, was a very tall man and the altar that was placed in the cathedral at that time reflected his height.

“Traditionally, the chair is only used by the archbishop, but it is a symbol of his pastoral role as the person who leads the liturgy. When the archbishop is not there, the empty chair is very significant. It (the 6in platform) is only a little stand, but it makes a big difference.”

Martin, whose rise to power as a diplomat at the Vatican was meteoric, is said to be “delighted” with the upwards move.

A fluent speaker of Spanish, French and Italian, the archbishop was the Holy See representative at United Nations conferences dealing with social questions such as Aids, poverty and Third World debt before being appointed to Dublin in 2003 to succeed Cardinal Desmond Connell.

Although Martin is estimated to be 5ft 10in, he is not as tall as Ryan, archbishop of Dublin between 1972 and 1984, who was more than 6ft tall.

“The archbishop was, of course, consulted about the changes, and he seems to be very happy with it,” said O’Donoghue.

The new pew has been welcomed by parishioners and has prompted lay workers at the Pro-Cathedral to adopt You Raise Me Up, the current Westlife hit single, as a church anthem.

The elevated throne, unveiled last week at the ordination of new deacons in the diocese, was the brainchild of John Flaherty, the new administrator of the Pro-Cathedral, who is overseeing a renovation of the 180-year-old church, spiritual home of Dublin’s 1m Catholics.

The balcony, home to the 102-year-old Palestrina Choir, is being restored. The renovations yielded a surprise when workers came across the original sanctuary lamp of the cathedral, which has now been restored to its former glory.

But while the Dublin renovations have met the approval of the congregation, other cathedral refits around Ireland are proving more problematic.

Earlier this year John Magee, the Bishop of Cloyne, refused to back down in a bitter row over a controversial redesign of St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh. Magee, who has served as secretary to three popes, is facing an appeal to An Bord Pleanala from An Taisce, the Irish Georgian Society and the Friends of St Colman’s Cathedral over his interior design plans.

Replacing the tabernacle with an archbishop’s throne in Armagh cathedral caused uproar among parishioners two years ago. The move upset traditionalists, who wanted the tabernacle to stay in a central place of worship. Some even said the church was replacing God with man, but the archdiocese defended its decision to reorder the sanctuary.

The Armagh archdiocese also caused uproar in the early 1980s when it gutted the cathedral, removing its marble high altar, pulpit and rails. The revamped cathedral was described by a local artist as “a cross between an airport foyer and a shopping mall”.

Bishops throughout Europe have defended re-ordering of their churches, claiming that the renovations are in accordance with “liturgical norms” sanctioned under Vatican II. But Michael Davies, a liturgical expert and president of Una Voce International, who criticised the Armagh changes, has argued that there is no mandate under the Second Vatican Council to “vandalise sanctuaries”.

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