Philip Tartaglia

The Right Reverend Philip Tartaglia Ph.B., S.T.D (b. 11th January 1951, Glasgow) is the fourth Roman Catholic Bishop of Paisley, Scotland.

He was the eldest son of Guido and Annita Tartaglia and has three brothers and five sisters. After his primary schooling at St. Thomas’, Riddrie, he began his secondary education at St. Mungo's Academy, Glasgow, before moving to the national junior seminary at St. Vincent’s College, Langbank and, later, St. Mary’s College, Blairs, Aberdeen. His ecclesiastical studies were completed at the Pontifical Scots College, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Fr Philip Tartaglia was ordained priest by Archbishop Thomas Winning in the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Dennistoun on the 30th June 1975. He then returned to Rome where he completed his ordinary course of studies in 1976 before beginning research for his doctorate in Sacred Theology. In 1978 he was additionally appointed as dean of studies at the Scots College in Rome, and was also acting vice-rector at that time.

On completing his doctorate in 1980, on the Council of Trent’s teaching on the Eucharist, he was appointed assistant priest at Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardonald, while at the same time becoming an extra-mural lecturer at St. Peter’s College, Newlands, Glasgow.

A year later, he was appointed lecturer at St. Peter’s College, becoming director of studies in 1983. When Chesters College, Bearsden, opened in 1985 he was made vice rector. In 1987 he was appointed rector.

He served as rector until 1993 when he was sent to St. Patrick’s, Dumbarton, as assistant priest before being appointed parish priest of St Mary’s, Duntocher in 1995. In 2004, the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland asked him to return to seminary as rector of the Pontifical Scots College, Rome.

On 13th September 2005, it was announced that Fr Philip Tartaglia had been nominated by Pope Benedict XVI as Bishop of Paisley. On 20th November 2005, the Solemnity of Christ the King, he was ordained as Bishop of Paisley in St Mirin's Cathedral by Archbishop Mario Conti. The co-consecrating bishops were Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke of St Louis, Missouri and Bishop John Mone, Emeritus Bishop of Paisley.

Bishop Tartaglia's motto, taken from the Latin hymn 'O Salutaris Hostia' by St Thomas Aquinas, is "Da Robur, Fer Auxilium" ('Give strength, bring aid'). [http://www.paisleydiocese.org.uk/Coat%20of%20Arms.htm]

He has recently attracted controversy for attacking Labour Party family policies such as no fault divorce and same-sex marriage ["Bishop lays down the law to Labour", p. 3, The Catholic Times, 15 October 2006] and the UK government's decision to upgrade its nuclear weapons capability.

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