“Buildings have a function but if they don’t help spread the good news, we have to question whether it is a good use of resources to pump money into them at the expense of spreading the Gospel…”

“Buildings have a function but if they don’t help spread the good news, we have to question whether it is a good use of resources to pump money into them at the expense of spreading the Gospel…”

By Ronnie Convery

Priests and parishioners are to be asked to come together to work out how best to organise parish life in the Archdiocese of Glasgow in coming years.

But Archbishop Nolan has made it clear that change is on the cards.

In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Flourish to mark his first year as Archbishop of Glasgow, Archbishop Nolan has revealed that local communities will be tasked with recommending which churches should be closed and which retained in their local zone to take account of the new reality of lower practising rates post Covid, fewer priests and population shift.

The Archbishop said: “Before deciding on changes or closures it is essential that we have a clear vision of what the purpose of the Church is and then we look at the resources we have in terms of people and properties and decide how best to utilise them.

“The Church is there to spread the good news, to reach out to others who are not yet touched by the Gospel. Yet we often think of parishes as places to dispense the sacraments to those who already come along every Sunday. We have to find a way to fulfil our primary challenge to reach out to all.

“We have a number of churches which need a lot of money spent on them – maybe a million pounds for a new roof – and of course we have to keep people warm and dry. But we are putting all our money into buildings. No-one is coming to me and saying ‘I need a million pounds for evangelisation and youth work!’.

Later this month the number of deaneries in the Archdiocese will be reduced from nine to five. Each new zone will be asked to examine the challenges and resources in its own area and recommend a way forward.

Good news for Filipino Catholics in Glasgow area

By Brian Swanson

Glasgow’s Filipino Catholics are to have a new regular Sunday Mass in the city centre in a sign of the growing strength of the community in the west of Scotland.

Filipino students have had occasional Masses at St Patrick’s Anderston since May 2022 but now the Archbishop has appointed a chaplain to the community and a regular Mass schedule has been established.

A PhD student carrying out research on education at the University of Strathclyde, McRhon Banderlipe says he was inspired to work to establish the new Mass community through his faith and through the inspiration of his Master in Education research project about teachers in communities.

He told Flourish: “Many of our migrant Filipinos who are based in Scotland work in the healthcare sector. Determining the most convenient time was crucial to ensure larger attendance. I remembered posting to every Facebook group of Filipinos here in Scotland. We were also introduced to musicians, choir members and graduate students who expressed willingness to participate and contribute their time for the event.

“We had a good turnout for the first Mass in 2022, around 30 attended both the Mass and the Recollection Canon Paul Gargaro facilitated and presided.

“We are fortunate now to have a Jesuit Filipino priest living here in Glasgow, Fr Henry Ponce SJ. “We thought that by seeking support from the Archbishop, we could garner more support from the community members. More importantly, we thought that celebrating the Liturgy in the Filipino language would be a good way to draw attendance from people who miss celebrating Mass in our local language. Our Filipino student community members have also stepped in to organise the choir, design the publicity materials and take roles in the forthcoming Masses.

“Now we have 100 attendees at Mass. Last month Archbishop Nolan came after the Mass to welcome the community. He also announced that Fr Henry Ponce will be the Chaplain for Filipinos in Glasgow. My heart literally wept for joy. Finally, after months of exploring and journeying, we have finally come to this moment. Filipinos in Glasgow can now look forward to have fellowship with the community every second Sunday of the month.”

McRhon added: “Our Filipino students have now found new friends and families, making Glasgow their second home.

“Together with the Lord, our relentless faith, and the support of the broader community, we will be able to provide pastoral care and support to our community members in any way we can.”

For more info contact email mcrhon.banderlipe@gmail.com. Filipino Masses are now held every Second Sunday of the Month at St Patrick’s Anderston.

Thanks for your faithfulness

By Brian Swanson

The variety of religious life present in the Archdiocese was much in evidence last month as members of religious orders and congregations joined the Archbishop to mark World Day of Consecrated Life.

It was the first time Archbishop Nolan had celebrated in Glasgow the special day which was inaugurated by St John Paul II to focus on the contribution of religious sisters, brothers and priests to the life of the Church.

Currently the Archdiocese hosts 12 male religious orders. The first being the Marist Brothers who establishes a presence in 1858, and the newest being the Sons of Mary, Mother of Mercy who came to Glasgow in 2020.

Challenge

Meanwhile there are currently 22 female religious congregations present, the fist being the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception established in 1847, with the most recent being the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary from 2020.

Archbishop Nolan had words of challenge and encouragement for the Religious who flocked to the Cathedral.

He said: “It is good to ask, what prompted us to consecrate our lives to God?

“It was the prompting of the Spirit. We should also ask, ‘are we still moved by the promptings of the Spirit’? Or are we influenced by other factors. Do we seek success? What is success?

“It was Mother Teresa who said God doesn’t ask us to be successful, he asks us to be faithful.”

And the Archbishop urged the Religious not to judge success by numbers of vocations.

He said: “Those sowing the seed may not be the same ones who gather in the crop.

“So we should renew our openness to the Spirit, as individuals and as communities, and ask, ‘are we showing others the love of God for his people in our words and actions’?

“That is what the Spirit is prompting us to do …”

Next month’s Flourish will have a special focus on religious life.

Pollok man John’s legacy will change children’s lives

By Brian Swanson

A legacy bequeathed by a top international lawyer brought up in a city housing estate and educated in a Glasgow Catholic school is set to provide years of educational opportunities for young people from challenging backgrounds.

John McInespie, who died just over 10 years ago aged 64, after a hugely successful career on both sides of the Atlantic, left instructions in his will to set up a Foundation named in honour of his mother.

John, who became clerk to Justice William Brennan. one of America’s most influential Supreme Court judges, worked tirelessly and without fee on appeals for prisoners on death row and advised the Catholic Church in Boston for many years, yet never forgot his Glasgow Catholic working-class roots.

The eldest of eight children he and his seven surviving sisters were brought up in a loving family where the power of faith and education were equally valued.

And now in recognition of the education he and his sisters received at Bellarmine Secondary in Pollok – since replaced by St Paul’s High – St Paul’s has become the first school, along with its feeder primaries, to benefit from the foundation’s generosity.

It has given funds for pupils to attend a summer sports academy, helped provide a new sound system for the school hall, paid for First Communion breakfasts, arranged weekend tutoring, several outdoor activities and is currently supporting the school’s creative arts department to put on an end of term summer show.

In the future other secondary schools and their associated primaries will be supported by the foundation which is currently working with St Margaret Mary’s Castlemilk to identify suitable projects and individuals needing its help.

The foundation is chaired by Maureen Henry, one of John’s sisters.

Maureen, a former deputy head teacher and parishioner of St Gregory’s Wyndford, said: “John was the oldest was a very caring brother and he did what he could to earn for the family. He sold ginger bottles round the doors which was a common thing then and he went potato picking and things like that.

“Back then if you were poor, you didn’t know it because every family was the same and people looked out for each other.”

Their father Patrick was unable to work regularly after contracting a serious chest infection in Egypt during the war and spent long periods convalescing in Erskine hospital.

And so like so many other working class Catholic families the McInespies had reason to be grateful to weekly visits from members of the local St Vincent de Paul conference who provided regular and discreet help with household bills.

But while many parents back then encouraged their children to leave school early and find work to support the family, the McInespie children were actively encouraged, particularly by their mother, to stay on at school.

Maureen said: ”We all knew that whatever John ended up doing it would be something different. Politics was his passion and even from an early age he would read magazines like the New Statesman and the Spectator and unlike other young men of his age he had no interest in football.

“In fact on the day Celtic played in the European Cup final there was a picture on the front page of one of the newspapers showing a solitary figure walking along Sauchiehall Street – that was our John on his way to the Mitchell Library!”

After a spells as a journalist in Glasgow and later in London with the BBC he moved to Washingston DC to continue his studies at the Jesuit-run Georgetown University.

John’s work then brought him into contact with Sister Helen Prejean, a lifelong campaigner against the death penalty whose book, Dead Man Walking was made into the 1995 film starring Susan Saradon and Sean Penn.

Sister Helen and John became close colleagues as they both worked tirelessly on Death Row appeals and in recognition of her lifelong commitment to that cause John was instrumental in securing her an honorary degree from Glasgow University in the summer of 1995.

John died in November 2012 a year after his mother in whose name the foundation was founded, passed away.