RC Diocese of Argyll & the Isles

        Fr. Ross Crichton writes from Benbecula, "We had the joy of baptising three adults and two children at our Easter Vigil, as well as receiving two other adults into full communion with the Church. Inara Mihailova, Marion Scanlon, and A...

Last Monday, 16^th April, the little church of St Donan on Eigg was packed, when local people and others who had travelled from the mainland gathered for a Mass of re-dedication......

When in Lourdes last week one night at the Candle-Light Procession one of the special prayer intentions was for Vocations to the Priesthood. This caught my attention and encouraged  me to pray for Vocations in our Diocese and also to make sure that I commended this intention again to the priests and people of the Diocese when I came back home.

This year the Mass of Chrism of Chrism marked our return to St. Columba's Cathedral after many months of work on the roof and tower. Parishes from across the diocese were well represented as we joined Bishop Joseph and members of the clergy for the blessing of the sacred oils.

A fundraising concert for St. Columba's Cathedral was held in the Corran Halls, Oban on Friday 17 February.

The all-star cast included Michelle McManus, Mod Gold Medallist Paul McCallum and Irish Tenor Patrick Hughes.

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I hope this finds everybody well. I have a few points to bring to your attention from recent meetings.....

The priests of the Diocese have had some discussions among themselves and with me in recent times on the conduct of funerals in our parishes. One of the concerns raised is in regard to the taking up of collections at funerals. I would, therefore, like to make some comment on that matter and then go on to mention some other points in regard to the celebration of the Funeral Liturgy......

One of the great privileges we have as Catholics is to receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. This encounter with the living Lord is the high point of our spiritual lives and the moment in which we experience the Lord´s presence and love in its fullest and deepest way.  Being so richly blessed, we are invited by the Lord to carry his  love into the whole of our lives. It is always, therefore, a very precious moment but also one which asks for our loving response to the Lord´s goodness

As Bishop I am very aware of the number of priests available in the Diocese of Argyll and the isles, and often think of where best to locate our priests in the future....

I hope this finds everybody well and spiritually renewed as we continue the Lenten journey. As we do so we look forward to the celebration of the Lord’s Paschal Mystery in the Sacred Triduum.....