A Southwark Cathedral in London is recognized for its beautiful architecture and its history. But in the past few years, the Gothic cathedral became known for a different reason.
Cathedral held service for a beloved cat
The Southwark Cathedral stands on the south bank of the River Thames. The cathedral is the home of a stray cat that is affectionately named Doorkins Magnificat. Doorkins stayed at the cathedral for 12 years; she passed away on September 30 of old age.
Andrew Nunn, the Dean of Southwark Cathedral, hosted an unusual service of thanksgiving, which was live-streamed on October 28.
Nunn said that Doorkins was very popular and had a massive following on her Twitter account. The cat was also the focus of a lot of people's visits to the cathedral. The people in central London treated Doorkins like their own pets.
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According to Nunn, when Doorkins died, the response was overwhelming, and they knew they had to do something. He added that they grew to love the cat and that she was adored by the public too.
In 2008, Doorkins Magnificat, or Doorkins for short, make the cathedral her home after she visited between Christmas and New Year in search of food, according to Metro.UK.
Over the next couple of years, the cat became a common sight at the church. She would walk across the altar in the middle of a service, sleeping in the hay of the nativity scene at Christmas and sprawling across the pews.
Celebrity status
Doorkins was also present during a visit by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. She amused the queen after she looked at her and went back to sleep.
In 2019, Doorkins became blind and deaf, so she was moved into the home of the cathedral's verger. A church official looked after the cat until she passed away peacefully.
Those who loved Doorkins thanked Nunn for the fantastic and touching service that they put together for the beloved cat. They shared fond memories of Doorkins.
However, not everyone was impressed by the service that they held for Doorkins. One bishop, who thought the whole thing was a joke, labeled the service insensitive due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to DailyMail.
The pandemic made it difficult for people to give their loved ones a proper funeral, so doing one for Doorkins was deemed tone-deaf.
Despite the backlash, Nunn said he had no regrets about the service and added that he was taken aback by the number of people that had said they had cried watching the live stream. The whole service was heartwarming, emotional, and it bonded a small community together.
Doorkins was able to reach people from all around the world through his Twitter account. She also helped bring more people to church as they wanted to see her adorable antics.
According to Nunn, Doorkins was able to convince people who were not churchgoers to attend mass regularly because they get to pet her. Nunn added that Doorkins is now buried in the church ground, so people can visit her when the pandemic situation has subsided.
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