The cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady and St Philip Howard, martyr and saint. St Philip lived from1557 to 1595. He was the first Earl of Arundel and is an ancestor of the Duke of Norfolk whose family name is Fitzalan-Howard. The dukes are the premier non-royal dukes and hereditary Earl Marshal of England. The duke is responsible for the organisation of great royal events such and the funeral of our late queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III.

The cathedral is situated on a hilltop overlooking the town of Arundel and the River Arun's valley. It is very close to Arundel Castle which has been the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk since 1102. It was commissioned by the 15th Duke in 1868. I feel that it is safe to assume that the site was chosen by the duke, built on land that he gave, to a design that he approved of and was funded by him.

Religion has been the greatest souce of grief to the human race since the beginning of time. A present day example is the terrorism of some people of the Muslim faith in the Middle East. Just look at the death, damage, grief and sufferering that the current attack of Hamas against Israel has caused. Some of the greatest atrocities in Europe have been commited by members of various beliefs of the Christian faith - believers in a Loving God they will tell you.

The conflict between Catholics and Protestants in England is a tradgedy brought about by the actions of both groups. What is really depressing is that the root cause was the lust for wealth and power and the desire to have a son that king Henry VIII created the scene for such devastation.

It is fair to say that the barbarity wasn't restricted to the English. The French caused the agonising death of one of their greatest heroines, Joan of Arc, by having her burnt at the stake accused of being a heretic. Just as bad was meting out the same death to Bishop Cranwell for writng parts of the bible in English.

Because of the king's actions in his Brexit moment of leaving the Roman Catholic church and setting up his own, Catholics lost their monestries, abbeys and churches in 1664. It wasn't until 1829, 165 years later, that they were to be allowed to build churches again. The 15th duke responded to that so that we have the cathedral as it stands today.

The building wasn't always a cathedral. It was built as a parish church. It wasn't until 1965 that the building became a cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton.

The remains of St Philp were moved from the Fitzalan mausoleum, just down the hill and enshined in the cathedral in 1971.