The growing profile of Cardiff as an international city reflects a new confidence in Wales as a nation, the Archbishop of Wales will say today (March 1).
In his St David’s Day address, Dr Barry Morgan will say that just as St David is symbolically important for the whole of Wales, so Cardiff is the focal point for our national life. But while we should celebrate the success of the capital, he warned we must not lose interest in the rest of the country.
Speaking at St John’s Church in the heart of Cardiff, Dr Morgan said, “On this national day, just as it is possible to be proud to be Welsh, but to realise, at the same time, that we belong to one common humanity, and that the two things are not incompatible, so too it is possible to rejoice in this city without forgetting the importance of the rest of Wales.”
He said that the vision behind the regeneration of Cardiff, with iconic buildings, such as the Senedd, the Millennium Centre, the International Cricket Stadium and, most recently, the St David’s shopping centre, was to make Cardiff a distinctive international city and to stimulate the urban, regional and national economy.
He said, “Some of you here today, who come from Mid and North Wales, might say so what’s new? The South rules OK as it has always seemed to do. Just as we have a southern saint as the patron saint of all Wales, so now everything seems to be centred here in Cardiff….And that’s where symbolic significance has its part to play. Just as Dewi Sant is now symbolically significant for all Wales, this capital city stands for a new confident Wales and a new confidence in Wales.”
He praised Cardiff’s efforts to improve life for all its people – including factoring in a £3m hostel for homeless people in its regeneration programme.
He said, “The city has tried to raise the dignity of life for all its citizens by creating an environment where people can work and carry out their lives in safety…it realises that unless there is good news for everyone, there’s good news for no-one and that a city or society is ultimately judged by how it treats its poorest inhabitants.
“So we rejoice in all these good things that have happened in Cardiff. And just as Dewi Sant came to be the patron saint of Wales, so this city can be the focal point for all that is good about our national life, but without forgetting the rest of Wales.”
