“I was chosen, without any merit of my own. Now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love. He wants us all to be united in one family…”

Archbishop’s papal hotline

By Ronnie Convery

If anyone asks Archbishop Nolan if he has a hotline to the Pope… the answer is yes!

The link emerged on the day following Pope Leo’s election when the Archbishop recalled having spoken on the phone with the new Pope when he was Cardinal Prevost a few months ago.

The Archbishop used the mobile number he had for the new Pope to send a greeting from the Catholics of Glasgow – and much to his surprise received a message of thanks shortly afterwards!

Archbishop Nolan said: “Although I have never met the new Pope we did speak on the phone a few months back and I found him very pleasant and friendly.

“He had called the Archdiocesan offices and when I wasn’t in he left his mobile number for me to call him back, which I did.

“I assumed that the officials would have taken his phone from him after his election as Pope, but I sent off a message of congratulations in the off chance that he would eventually be reunited with his mobile phone.

Delighted

“I was very touched and delighted to receive a message back from the new Pope a short time afterwards thanking us for our prayers for him.”

The new Pontiff is very much at home with technology and keeps in touch with his brothers and their families and friends from round the world by mobile phone. Before his election he also had an X/Twitter account which he used to comment on events and he also uses his device to play ‘Wordle’ the popular daily word quiz run by the New York Times online edition.

Sister Sunshine marks 75 years of religious life – with a smile

By Brian Swanson

Sister Mary of the Ascension, affectionately known as Sister Sunshine, is congratulated by Archbishop Nolan following a Mass to mark her 70 years of devoted service to her order.

She took the name when she joined the Sisters of Nazareth in 1954 and it was in Nazareth House, where she has been a resident for a number of years, that she renewed her vows surrounded by family and friends at a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by Archbishop Nolan.

A tribute to her, read out by a colleague, revealed that she got her nickname when she worked for many years in South Africa caring for the elderly and those with complex needs.

Volunteers

One her first tasks, with the help of volunteers, was to transform a ramshackle hut into a community hub which became known as the Sunshine Cabin and locals soon started calling her ‘Sister Sunshine’.

In 1981 she returned to the UK and worked in Nazareth Houses throughout the country before returning to Glasgow in 2003 where she took up a new role in pastoral care until her retirement.

The tribute concluded: “Sister Mary’s life is a testament to love and compassion and a caring heart.

“Her joyful spirit and genuine kindness leave a lasting impression on all and we would like to thank her for her commitment and dedication to our congregation for 70 years but most especially in serving our Lord throughout her life.”

Among those taking part in the celebrations to mark her Platinum Jubilee of religious life were her sister Cynthia, who is also a resident in Nazareth House, Cardonald. One of her nephews, Father Paul, is a priest in Dublin.

Mass with Lady Elish is ecumenical milestone

By Ronnie Convery

A historic moment in the history of ecumenism happened yesterday as the King’s representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, was warmly received at a Catholic Mass.

Lady Elish Angiolini (pictured, right of Archbishop) was this year’s Lord High Commissioner at the Kirk assembly held in Edinburgh last month, the first Catholic ever to be appointed to the role. Indeed her nomination required an act of parliament to be revised to go ahead.

Parliament

Archbishop Nolan was joined by Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh who is the Catholic Church’s representative at the General Assembly, the Chapter of Canons, the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Provosts of neighbouring local authorities, the Lord Dean of Guild, Church leaders of various denominations, and members of the armed forces at the packed Sunday evening Mass.

Archbishop Nolan used his sermon to highlight both the positive and negative lessons to be drawn from the occasion.

He said: “How far we have come from the days when Catholics were forbidden to attend services in Protestant churches and vice versa. But we should bow our heads in shame that we ever acted like this while at the same time proclaiming ourselves to be followers of Jesus who said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

“It has taken us a long time to listen to those words and put them into practice.”

The Archbishop also went on to stress the link between public and private expressions of faith.

He said: “It is good that at this Mass, in the 850th year since Glasgow was named a Bishop’s Burgh, representatives of civil and religious institutions come together showing how we both care deeply for the common good of our people.”

“I was chosen, without any merit of my own. Now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love. He wants us all to be united in one family…”

By Ronnie Convery

The new Pope may wear his learning lightly, but he is a genuine intellectual with enormous pastoral experience.

After parish primary school in his native Chicago he went to the minor seminary of the Augustinian Fathers and then to Villanova University, in Pennsylvania, where in 1977 he graduated in mathematics.

Later the same year, in Saint Louis, he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine, and made his first profession on September 2, 1978. On August 29, 1981 he took his solemn vows.

Priest

After graduating in theology, at the age of 27 he was sent to Rome to study canon law at the Angelicum. It was in Rome that he was ordained a priest, on June 19, 1982.

In 1987 he obtained his doctorate and was appointed director of vocations and director of the missions in Illinois.

But the following year he was sent to Peru and stayed in the Augustinian community there for 11 years when he held the positions of prior (1988–1992), director of formation (1988–1998), and teacher of the professed (1992–1998), working also in the Archdiocese of Trujillo as professor of Canon Law, Patristics and Morals at the major seminary.

In 1999, he was elected Prior Provincial of the Augustinian Province in Chicago, and two years later, he was elected as Prior General, the world head of his order, before being re-elected in 2007 for a second term.

In October 2013 he returned to Chicago for a year and was director of Formation at the convent of St. Augustine, until Pope Francis appointed him, on November 3, 2014, apostolic administrator of the Peruvian diocese of Chiclayo and at the same time titular Bishop of Sufar.

On November 7, he entered the diocese and was ordained bishop on December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Cardinal

On January 30, 2023, the Pope called him to Rome as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, promoting him to Archbishop. He was named a cardinal by Pope Francis on September 30 that year.

Throughout his ministry the new Pope has combined study with direct pastoral action, and was much loved as “Padre Roberto” in his diocese in Peru, where he was constantly on the move visiting his people.