‘We must face up to reality’

Celebrations mark golden jubilee of the canonisation of John Ogilvie

By Brian Swanson

Young seminarians from the Scots College in Rome created their own lifetime memories when they acted as servers at the Mass of John Ogilvie’s canonisation.

Some went on to serve as priests in the Archdiocese of Glasgow or in other dioceses, while others took different paths in life, but in St Peter’s Basilica, on the morning of Sunday October 17, 1976, they stood a heartbeat away from the future Saint Pope Paul VI as they acted as altar servers.

They included Father Alfie McKenzie, who held the Pope’s mitre that day, and now works in the estates department of the Archdiocese combined with his other responsibilities which include editing both the Western Calendar and the Catholic Directory for Scotland.

Canon Peter Gallacher, 73, who retired last year as parish priest from Christ the King, King’s Park, after 26 years said: “One of the most abiding memories for me was when we gathered near Michelangelo’s Pietà in St Peter’s Basilica waiting for the Pope to lead us out.

“Then he appeared and for me, a 23-year-old from Dumbarton, in my second year, to be so close to the Holy Father was just wonderful.

“It’s different for students now who are seen regularly with the Pope but in our day it was different. So being there with the Holy Father on such an occasion left a lasting impression.”

The Pope’s Missal was held by Paul Laverty, who went on become a TV script writer and close collaborator of veteran film director Ken Loach, whose award-winning films expose social injustice through drama.

Fr Michael MacDonald, Parish Priest of St Michael’s Ardkenneth, South Uist was also a server at the Papal altar and reflected on the day itself and the legacy of the canonisation.

“On the day itself, the only things that I remember vividly are meeting the Pope and receiving Holy Communion from him. I have always had a deep devotion to Saint Paul VI, and this was an emotionally and devotionally overwhelming moment.

“There was a pilgrimage from the Islands, which came for the Canonisation, and as a student, I spent a great deal of time with them, as a guide, and I made many friendships which have lasted a lifetime.

“Each year on holiday I visit close friends of mine in the northeast of Scotland. I love to celebrate Mass with the small Sunday congregation at St Thomas’s, Keith, which, you could say, is the northern shrine to Saint John Ogilvie. The people gathered for Mass are a multi-cultural group: Indians, Filipinos, local people. Small numbers – yes, but the liturgy is vibrant, and everyone is involved.

“What I see and what I take part in convinces me that Saint John Ogilvie’s martyrdom for religious freedom – his prayers for our country – are in the Providence of God and are leading to the formation of new groups of the People of God; groups with their lives centred on the Eucharist and the gifts which it brings, that very Eucharist which Saint John Ogilvie died for.”

Pope Paul’s words on the day of the canonisation are worth recalling. He spoke haltingly in English at the beginning and reverted to Italian for the main section of his long homily.

He said: “We have great joy in being able to announce to all of God’s pilgrim Church on earth the glorious name of a new Saint, that of John Ogilvie, who died a martyr in Glasgow, on 10 March 1615, and who has already been accorded the honour of beatification by our venerable predecessor Pope Pius XI, on 22 December 1929…”

He returned to English for his final words:

“We are happy to recognise in this sympathetic and heroic figure of a man, a saint and a martyr, the symbol of your own religious, strong and generous land.

“And in Saint John Ogilvie we willingly greet a glorious champion of your people, an ideal exemplar of your past history, a magnificent inspiration for your happy future. We honour in Saint John Ogilvie an outstanding member of that Society of Jesus which has given so many other valiant soldiers like him to the cause of Christ and of civilisation.

“In him we jubilantly greet a beloved son of the Catholic Church, a typical citizen of the world who is called to discover the light for its harmony, progress and peace in the faith of Christ.

“Honour to you, representatives of a Scotland that has given to humanity such a great hero of freedom and of faith.”

Parish changes: how the plans will affect you

By Ronnie Convery

A detailed blueprint for the future of parishes in the Archdiocese has been produced, reducing the number of parishes to around 40 through a programme of mergers and closures over the next decade.

It will lead to a major reorganisation of Catholic parish life in the Archdiocese of Glasgow, the biggest ever undertaken.

The proposals follow local deanery area consultations over the past few years and reflect population shifts and the dramatically reduced number of priests available to provide pastoral care.

The plans will see mergers in many areas and a reduction in the number of church buildings.

The proposals have been approved in principle by the Archbishop and the Council of Priests and will now be discussed locally in parish and deanery pastoral councils ahead of the changes taking place.

Mergers and closures will not take place on a single future date but rather each case will involve due process in Canon law.

The blueprint provides for changes affecting the following parishes:

Dunbartonshire East

St Joseph’s, Cumbernauld will merge with Sacred Heart and St Lucy’s, Cumbernauld, with these parishes eventually being reduced to two churches over 5–10 years.

Holy Cross, Croy will merge with Our Lady and St Helen’s, Condorrat, with an eventual reduction to one church over 5–10 years.

Holy Family and St Ninian’s, Kirkintilloch has already merged with St John of the Cross, Twechar, and St Flannan’s, Kirkintilloch, eventually being reduced to one church within 10 years.

St Andrew’s, Bearsden will merge with St Joseph’s, Milngavie within 5 years with the two churches being maintained.

No immediate change is proposed for the two Bishopbriggs parishes.

Dunbartonshire West

St Kessog’s, Balloch to merge with St Martin’s, Renton, and Our Lady and St Mark’s, Alexandria, with an eventual reduction to one church over 5–10 years.

St Michael’s Parish, Dumbarton (including St Mahew’s church) to merge with St Joseph’s, Helensburgh, (including the churches of St Gildas’, Rosneath, and St Peter & St Paul, Arrochar). The document envisages the merger over the next 5–10 years, with Rosneath and Arrochar closing and St Michael’s, St Joseph’s and St Mahew’s being maintained.

Our Holy Redeemer and St Margaret’s Parish to merge with St Eunan’s, Clydebank, with a reduction to two church buildings within 5 years.

St Mary’s, Duntocher, merged with St Joseph’s, Faifley, will reduce to one church within 5 years.

St Stephen’s, Dalmuir parish will merge with St Patrick’s, Old Kilpatrick, with an eventual reduction to one church over 5–10 years.

No immediate change is proposed for St Patrick’s, Dumbarton.

Glasgow South

St Helen’s, already merged with St Albert’s, Pollokshields, will further merge with St Mary Immaculate, Pollokshaws, with a reduction to two churches within 5 years, with some of the territory of St Mary’s being transferred to St Gabriel’s in Merrylee.

Merger of St Bartholomew’s, Castlemilk and St Margaret Mary’s, Castlemilk, with an eventual reduction to one church within 5 years.

Merger of Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardonald with St Leo’s, Dumbreck, with an eventual reduction to one church within 5 years.

St James’ parish will merge with St Conval’s, with an eventual reduction to one church over 5–10 years.

St Constantine’s, Govan will merge with St Anthony’s, Govan, with one church closing depending on the condition of the buildings, within 5 years.

Holy Cross, Crosshill parish will merge with St Brigid’s, Toryglen within 5 years.

St Robert’s, Househillwood and St Bernard’s, Nitshill to discuss reducing to one church within 5 years.

St Vincent’s, Thornliebank parish will merge with Holy Name, Mansewood, with an eventual reduction to one church building within 5-10 years.

No immediate changes are proposed for the parishes of Christ the King, Our Lady and St George’s, St Gabriel’s and Blessed John Duns Scotus.

Glasgow West

St Peter’s, Partick parish, including the Glasgow University Chaplaincy, will merge with Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Broomhill, with an eventual reduction to one church within 10 years.

St Ninian’s, Knightswood will merge with Corpus Christi, Scotstounhill, St Laurence’s, Drumchapel, and St Benedict’s, Drumchapel, with an eventual reduction to two churches, one of them in Drumchapel, within 5 years.

St Columba’s, Woodside will merge with St Gregory’s in Wyndford and St Charles’, Oratory with an eventual reduction to one church within 5 years.

St Andrew’s Cathedral parish, including the Strathclyde University Chaplaincy, which is already merged with St Patrick’s, Anderston, will see an eventual reduction to one church within 5 years.

St Paul’s Whiteinch will be merged with St Brendan’s, Yoker, with eventual reduction to one building within ten years.

No immediate change is proposed for the parish of the Immaculate Conception.

Glasgow East and North

St Michael’s, Parkhead will merge with Sacred Heart, Bridgeton, St Mark’s, Shettleston, St Joseph’s, Tollcross, and St Joachim’s, Carmyle, with future discussions on reducing provision to three buildings.

St Mary’s, Calton parish will merge with St Alphonsus, St Anne’s, Dennistoun, and Our Lady of Good Counsel, Dennistoun, with consultation on reducing church buildings over 5–10 years.

St Augustine’s, Milton will merge with St Agnes’, Lambhill, and St Teresa’s, Possilpark, with an eventual reduction to one or two buildings within 5 years.

St Catherine’s, Balornock will merge with St Aloysius’, Springburn, and Immaculate Heart of Mary, with a reduction to one or two buildings within 5 years.

St Thomas, Riddrie will merge with St Bernadette’s, Carntyne, and St Maria Goretti’s, Cranhill with an eventual reduction to one building within 5 years.

St Paul’s, Shettleston will merge with St Jude’s, Barlanark, and St Barnabas’, Shettleston, with an eventual reduction to one church within 5 years.

No immediate change proposed for St Philomena’s.

Extraordinary success of Pope Leo’s visit to France

By Ronnie Convery

Pope Leo XIV’s four-day visit to France last month saw scenes that few could have anticipated.

From Paris to Lourdes and finally Metz, the Pope encountered extraordinary crowds – prompting even the secular French press to marvel at the strength of the response.

Hi visit started in Paris, where an estimated 800,000 people filled the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde for an open-air Mass. The crowd stretched along the two-kilometre route, with people cheering, waving Vatican flags and bringing children forward to receive the Pope’s blessing.

Le Monde described the vast gathering as “a demonstration of the Pope’s ability to draw huge crowds” while other reports noted that many present were not practising Catholics – or were not Catholic at all.

The Pope then travelled south to Lourdes, where he prayed at the Grotto of the Apparitions and celebrated Mass at the sanctuary. The Marian shrine, visited by millions of pilgrims every year, provided a profoundly different setting from the grandeur of Paris: a place of prayer, healing and quiet devotion.

There, Pope Leo XIV launched an appeal that he said was “particularly close to my heart, here in this place.”

Rosary

Just as the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St Bernadette in the Grotto of Lourdes with a Rosary and guided her in prayer, the Pope said he hoped all Christians will pray the Rosary especially during the month of October.

He called for them to pray the Rosary “with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict.”

“Let us accompany this prayer with concrete acts of penance and mercy, committing ourselves always to fostering dialogue and reconciliation,” he said.

His final destination was Metz where Pope Leo placed his message within the wider story of Europe.

In a city associated with Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of European integration, and a candidate for canonisation, he called for peace, dialogue and unity. Some 35,000 people gathered for his final events, while an interreligious meeting brought together representatives of different faith traditions.

As the Pope departed France, the remarkable crowds left one unmistakable impression. In a nation often portrayed as increasingly secular, hundreds of thousands had come simply to see and hear the successor of St Peter.

For the Church in France, it was a moment of encouragement – and perhaps a reminder that, beneath the statistics, the thirst for faith remains very much alive.

‘We must face up to reality’

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

For years now there has been much talk of the need to restructure and reduce the number of parishes in the Archdiocese. A plan for that restructuring has now been drawn up, reducing the number of parishes by half and seeing the closure of two dozen churches.

There are too many parishes but too few people, too many churches but too few priests.

Compared to when these parishes were formed and our churches built, there are significantly fewer people coming to Mass. Some of our largest churches are in places where there are fewest people.

And as for priests, I have been Archbishop for less than five years and the number of our active priests is down by a third in that time. Only one of our priests is under the age of 45, most are over the age of 60. Thank goodness we have foreign priests and religious willing to serve in the Archdiocese, otherwise the situation would be even more critical than it is.

Our parishes and our churches hold great memories for us and are dear to our hearts, so any reduction in parishes and any closure of churches will be a painful experience. We cannot avoid that pain, though, by not facing up to reality.

Just as the vinedresser cuts back the vine so that it may grow, so we too must trim and prune in order to stay healthy, in order to grow.

I would ask everyone in the Archdiocese to respond to these plans with a spirit of cooperation and a willingness to make sacrifices, to look to the past with fondness, but to let the past go in order to enable a new future to take shape.

May we trust in God as we face the road ahead.

Let us pray for each other as we make difficult decisions in these changing times.

In Christ,

+William Nolan

Archbishop of Glasgow