Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church

Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church is a Roman Catholic church in Dublin, Ireland maintained by the Carmelite order. The church is noted for having the relics of Saint Valentine, which were donated to the church in the 19th century by Pope Gregory XVI from their previous location in the cemetery of St. Hippolytus in Rome.[1]

Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church
Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church
53.339860°N 6.266999°W
Location	56 Aungier Street
Country	Republic of Ireland
Denomination	Catholic
Tradition	Latin Church
Religious institute	Carmelites
Website	whitefriarstreetchurch.ie
History
Consecrated	11 November 1827
Relics held	Saint Valentine Albert of Sicily
Architecture
Architect(s)	George Papworth
Groundbreaking	1826
Construction cost	£4,000
Specifications
Capacity	2,000
Length	83 metres (272 ft)
Width	24 metres (79 ft)
Materials	limestone, marble
Administration
Parish	Whitefriar Street
Deanery	Cullenswood
Archdiocese	Dublin

The church is on the site of a pre-Reformation Carmelite priory built in 1539. The current structure dates from 1825 and was designed by George Papworth, who also designed St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin. It was extended and enlarged in 1856 and 1868.

The church also contains relics of St. Albert, a Sicilian who died in 1306. On his feast day (August 7), a relic of the saint is dipped into the water of St. Albert's Well, and the Carmelites say that those who piously use the water receive healing of both body and mind through the intercession of St. Albert.[2]

The church also contains a life-size oak figure of Our Lady of Dublin.[3]

The 1825 building features in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833 as The Church of the Carmelite Friary, an engraving of the interior being accompanied by a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon.

• 
  Shrine of St. Valentine
• 
  The Church of the Carmelite Friary

References

1. "The Shrine of St Valentine in the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Whitefriar Street". www.carmelites.ie.
2. "Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Whitefriar Street, Dublin 2". www.carmelites.ie.
3. "The Shrine of Our Lady of Dublin at the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Whitefriar Street". www.carmelites.ie.

External links

Whitefriar Street Church website

Media related to Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, Dublin at Wikimedia Commons