Welcome to the Diocese of Argyll & the Isles
Welcome Message from Bishop Brian McGee
Welcome Message from Bishop Brian McGee
Welcome to the website of the Diocese of Argyll & the Isles, and thank you for visiting. I hope you will enjoy exploring the contents of the site, learning about our Cathedral and parishes, our Led by the Spirit discernment process, our Celtic spiritual heritage and much more.
It is a large diocese, taking in much of the western part of the Scottish Highlands & Islands. It covers over 31 thousand square kilometres and has the most beautiful scenery in Scotland! We welcome many thousands of visitors here each year and we really do WELCOME them! Visitors to the diocese enrich our lives and our liturgies.
For those resident in the diocese I hope you will find this renewed website of interest. In these pages, alongside our Facebook page, I hope you will find the information and news you require to make you an ever more active participant in the life of prayer and service that we endeavour to foster together.
To all site visitors, either local to the diocese of from further afield, I would like to ask your help in giving financial support should you be in a position to do so. You'll find a link to our donation page here and if you happen to be a tax payer in the USA then we have a dedicated donation page where you can take advantage of tax deductions when giving to the diocese.
I travel the diocese a great deal and one of the most enjoyable parts of that is meeting and greeting people! Now I am delighted to do so virtually as well, through this welcome message.
Thank you for visiting and during this Holy Year in particular may you experience the joy and hope that both Pope Francis and myself wish for you.
+Brian
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Happy Easter! As we celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection may our hearts overflow with trust in his love. I celebrated the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Mass in the parish of the Visitation, Taynuilt. The liturgies were beautiful and I had the privilege of baptising two adults and two children. If we are open like Peter in this morning’s Reading then we too will see signs of the Risen Lord’s continuing presence in our world.
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On Good Friday our Jubilee Cross is placed outside as a welcome sign of hope to the entire world. ... See MoreSee Less
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Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Today we begin the Easter Triduum, the shortest but most important Liturgical Season. This evening we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, his agony and betrayal in the garden. Tomorrow we commemorate his passion, death and burial while at Easter we celebrate his glorious Resurrection. Let us enter fully into the Triduum through personal contemplation, family prayer and participating at the Ceremonies in our parishes. May all our hearts be touched by the Lord’s love and may our own love be deepened so that we will enter more fully into the Paschal Mystery
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Today is traditionally called Spy Wednesday for in today’s Gospel Judas approaches the chief priests and offers to betray Jesus for a price. He then seeks an opportunity to betray him. During the Last Supper the weakness of the apostles is evident: misunderstanding, fear, betrayal, denial and abandonment. Nevertheless, the one constant is Jesus’ love, forgiveness, hope and trust. Despite our own weaknesses Jesus’ perfect love never falters. Happy Holy Week!
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As we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to save us, let us welcome the Lord this Holy Week not just with palms but with open hearts and minds.
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The Jubilee Cross returned to our Cathedral for the Mass of Chrism, having spent one month in the parishes of Lochaber Deanery. A parishioner from St Margaret’s, Roy Bridge sent me the following lovely message which I will share with you:
“We were delighted to receive the Pilgrims’ Cross of Hope from St John’s, and we thought carefully about what we might do to make it a very special occasion involving all our parishioners. We felt that it would be most helpful to everyone if, the week before, we first gave out flyers explaining the procedure and including the Jubilee Prayer.
All our parishioners then took home a prayer card and wrote their own prayers of hope on the back of the little cards of different colours that we had made in the shape of a cross. They returned with their prayer cards the following Sunday and placed them on a wooden plate to be taken up with the gifts at the Offertory and laid in front of the Jubilee Cross.
Arranged at the foot of the cross were beautiful red roses, together with sprigs of holly and red berries, nurtured from Christmas. These represented both the Suffering of Christ on Calvary and the great Love He bore for us. The prayer cards encircled the arrangement at the foot of the cross and we hung a few of them on the tree stump, which symbolises the Root of Jesse. It all proved to be very meaningful and prayerful. At the end of Mass, we prayed the Jubilee Prayer together.“ ... See MoreSee Less
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The Chrism Mass takes place in St. Columba's Cathedral, Oban where the bishop consecrates the sacred chrism and blesses other oils used in sacraments. During this Mass, priests also renew their vows. ... See MoreSee Less
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Please be a pilgrim of hope and join us for our Jubilee Chrism Mass tomorrow, Wednesday 9th April, in St Columba’s Cathedral, Oban at 6.30pm. ... See MoreSee Less
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