ST. GEORGE'S SOUTHWARK

Sir, We are convinced I hat a most urgent appeal today is for the rebuilding of the war-shattered Cathedral of St. George, Southhwark. This is not a question merely of enlargement or embellishment, but of reconstructing a church in a thickly populated area where the complete destruction of the original building has caused great hardship for the last fifteen years.
This Cathedral was the parish church of thousands in the congested area on the south bank of the river, and its rebuilding is an urgent necessity for the severely pratical purpose of providing them with proper facilities for Mass and the Sacraments. Since 1941 the Archbishop Amigo Jubilee Hall has been pressed into service as a makeshift Pro-Cathedral, and the discomfort endured by the parishioners must be seen to be believed. The hall has 400 seats but at several of the Sunday Masses the congregation is nearly twice that number, and many have to stand in the side aisles ,in the porch and even outside on the pavement.
Although the rebuilding of the Cathedral was the obvious solution, it was an act of great courage and faith on the part of the Bishop of Southwark to make the decision to begin the work in 1953, for it meant that, in addition to a generous grant from the War Damage Commission, he would have to find at least another £ 160,000 to provide little more than the walls and the roof. So far, some 1 110,000 has been collected, but there still remains the balance of £ 50,000 to be baud. This representsthe approximate cost of putting the roof on the Cathedral, and this sum must be raised in the next few months if the Bishop is not to be burdened with a heavy debt when the work is completed.
May I appeal once more to your generous readers to help? Donations should be sent to: St. George's Cathedral, Southwark, Reconstruction Fund, St George's Road, Southwark, London, S.E.1. Covenants are, of course, particularly welcome, and covenant forms will gladly be sent on request.
M.S. Slattery. Chairman of the Fund.