Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow

The Archdiocese of Glasgow is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland.

The modern Archdiocese of Glasgow consists of 100 parishes in the West of Scotland, and includes the city of Glasgow, and the towns of Dumbarton in the west and Cumbernauld in the east. The Archdiocese extends northwards to Bearsden, Bishopbriggs and Milngavie and westwards to Balloch and Garelochhead.

The current archbishop is Mario Joseph Conti who was appointed in 2002.

History

The Scottish church broke its allegiance to Rome in 1560, the year of the Reformation parliament. Glasgow did not again become a centre of Catholic life till about the beginning of the nineteenth century during the process of Catholic Emancipation. The progress of the Industrial Revolution also began to draw to the city and its neighbourhood Catholics from the Scottish Highlands and later, in far greater numbers, from Ireland.

In 1828 the Holy See erected the Western District or Vicariate of Scotland, and the first vicar Apostolic to reside in Glasgow was Andrew Scott, Bishop of Eretria (b. 1772, d, 1846). He was succeeded by John Murdoch, Bishop of Castabala (b. 1796, d. 1865) and John Gray, Bishop of Hypsopolis (b. 1817, d. 1872). On the resignation of Bishop Gray in 1869 Charles Petre Eyre (b. 1817, d. 1902) was consecrated Archbishop of Anazarba and appointed administrator Apostolic. On the Restoration of the Scottish hierarchy by Pope Leo XIII, 4 March, 1878, the Archbishopric of Glasgow was re-established, and Archbishop Eyre was transferred to the restored see.

By 1877, a year prior to the restoration of the Hierarchy, Archbishop Charles Eyre could record that in Glasgow city there were nineteen parishes, served by fifty-two priests, and in the county of Dunbarton, five parishes and seven priests.

Lanarkshire, which became Motherwell diocese in 1947-48, had seventeen parishes and twenty-two priests, while Renfrewshire, which became Paisley diocese in 1947-48, had eleven parishes and sixteen priests.

To train clergy, Archbishop Eyre founded St.Peter's College at Partickhill in 1874, and also encouraged the opening at Dowanhill in 1894 of Notre Dame teacher-training college. He was also committed to creating new parishes and breaking up over-large ones which he felt 'were almost dioceses in themselves'.

During the episcopate of his successor, Archbishop John Maguire, the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 was passed. Financial difficulties, including the triple burden of salaries, building costs, and rising educational expectations necessitated a settlement.

Maguire also firmly supported the War effort of 1914-18. In 1917, soldier-students went to the Front from St.Peter's College, and two of the military chaplains from the Archdiocese were killed. Although the seminary never closed during the First World War, at one point it housed only a single student and the rector.

Ordinaries

*Ranald MacDonald † (13 Feb 1827 Appointed - 20 Sep 1832 Died)
*Andrew Scott † (20 Sep 1832 Succeeded - 15 Oct 1845 Resigned)
*John Murdoch † (15 Oct 1845 Succeeded - 15 Dec 1865 Died)
*John Gray † (15 Dec 1865 Succeeded - 4 Mar 1869 Resigned)
*Charles Petre Eyre † (15 Mar 1878 Appointed - 27 Mar 1902 Died)
*John Aloysius Maguire † (4 Aug 1902 Appointed - 14 Oct 1920 Died)
*Donald Mackintosh † (24 Feb 1922 Appointed - 8 Dec 1943 Died)
*Donald Alphonsus Campbell † (6 Jan 1945 Appointed - 22 Jul 1963 Died)
*James Donald Scanlan † (29 Jan 1964 Appointed - 23 Apr 1974 Retired)
*Thomas Joseph Winning † (23 Apr 1974 Appointed - 17 Jun 2001 Died)
*Mario Joseph Conti (15 Jan 2002 Appointed - )

External links

* [http://www.rcag.org.uk/ Archdiocese of Glasgow]
* [http://www.gcatholic.com/dioceses/diocese/glas0.htm Giga-Catholic Information]