Welcome to the Diocese of Argyll & the Isles
Visit of the Papal Nuncio
Photo credit: CBCEW, Flickr
The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buenda, is making a pastoral visit to every diocese in Scotland, England and Wales. He will be visiting Argyll and the Isles from Tuesday 22nd to Friday 25th July 2025. The Nuncio will visit each of our three deaneries, which will involve significant travel, but it will allow him to experience distinct flavours of our diocese.
The Nuncio is the Pope’s personal representative in our country and welcoming him among us is a sign of our fidelity and affection for the Successor of Peter. It also provides an opportunity for us to pray together for Pope Leo as he begins his Petrine Ministry.
You can read below the Nuncio’s timetable. I have asked that he visit each deanery so that it will be easier for you to meet him and participate in the opportunities for prayer. This is a special occasion for us all so please do join us at any events which are feasible for you.
Tuesday 22nd July 2025
2pm Gathering with representatives of our diocesan laity (3pm online link for those living at a distance), Bishop’s House, Oban
5pm Mass St Columba’s Cathedral, Oban
7pm Gathering with clergy, Bishop’s House
Wednesday 23rd July
11am Mass at Shrine of St Mary MacKillop, St Margaret’s, Roy Bridge
2.15pm Visit Glenfinnan
5.30pm Ecumenical Vespers St Mary’s, Arisaig
7.30pm Gathering with clergy, St Mary’s, Arisaig
Thursday 24th July
2pm Fr Allan MacDonald Trail, Isle of Eriskay
3pm Sacred Heart Home Daliburgh, Isle of South Uist
4pm Rosary at the statue of Our Lady of the Isles
6.30pm Mass St Mary’s, Griminish, Isle of Benbecula
Gathering with clergy St Mary’s
Friday 25th July
Early Mass and return home
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 Feastday! St Columba came to our shores as a true ‘pilgrim of hope’, travelling by coracle with 12 brother monks. St Columba, by his genuine holiness which always pointed towards Christ, brought hope - and still does - to countless people. Let us generously enter whichever ‘coracles’ the Lord offers us, trusting in his love and we too will be ‘pilgrims of hope’, for our own good and for the benefit of others.
St Columba, pray for us.
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Happy Pentecost! May we allow the Holy Spirit to set us on fire as the first disciples did.
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This painting of Pentecost, a present from Pope Francis to all the Synod participants, hangs in my office. During the Assembly it was often remarked that the entire synodal process was a Pentecost experience because the Spirit was working in disciples from across the world. Pope Francis endorsed this intuition.
For the past three years, arising from the conviction that all the baptised are temples of the Spirit, I have encouraged communal discernment through Led by the Spirit. Together we concluded that God is calling us to greater holiness, mission, catechesis and support of laity and clergy in their vocations. We have now arrived at the hardest bit - implementation.
I am appealing for participants, clergy and laity, to join our four Diocesan Commissions. Our diocese has very varied parishes and one size will not fit all. If you are interested or you know someone who has gifts to offer in the areas of deepening our holiness, mission, catechesis or formation please email me, providing a little background, at bishop@rcdai.org.uk
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Congratulations to the young parishioners from Lochgilphead and Taynuilt who were confirmed today, our final candidates for this year. Over the past 5 weeks it has been a delight travelling the length of our Diocese, staying in 12 parishes from Campbeltown to Stornoway. Most of our parishes are small but, as I reflect on the experience, I believe that quality is better than quantity. Of course, I would want more people seeking the sacraments but what I have encountered are communities of living faith populated by good people, caring pastors and happy and receptive children who are clearly loved and nourished. The Spirit is at work in us and through us! Let us progress confidently as ‘pilgrims of hope”.
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On the day we celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord from the Holy Land to Heaven, having saved all humanity, I urge for an immediate just and peaceful resolution to the awful conflict in Gaza. Please click to read my statement www.rcdai.org.uk/
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Diocese of Argyll and the Isles Parishes and Chapels - Google My Maps ... See MoreSee Less
Diocese of Argyll and the Isles Parishes and Chapels - Google My Maps
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Map showing all the parishes and chapels in the diocese of Argyll and the Isles0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Congratulations to the eleven parishioners who were confirmed on Sunday in Holy Redeemer, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. The parish community is young and vibrant. How long it is since such a large number were confirmed in that part of the diocese is anyone’s guess! During my fortnight’s visitation I saw many other shoots of hope across the Hebrides. The Spirit is clearly at work and people are responding.
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Congratulations to the three young parishioners who were confirmed last night in St Mary’s, Benbecula. ... See MoreSee Less
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The Hebrides are especially beautiful during this warm and sunny spell. However, the natural tranquility has been routinely disturbed by military exercises: the sounds and flashes caused by the firing from both land missiles and warships. The weapons aim away from the islands into the sea but many parishioners have told me that they find the experience frightening, particularly when they think of the harm being inflicted upon people where powerful weapons are being fired today such as in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan. Pope Francis insisted that war is always a defeat while since his first address Pope Leo has asked us to embrace peace. The Popes didn’t invent these teachings; they are rooted in the Gospel. The statue of Our Lady of the Isles invites us to walk the alternative path of the Prince of Peace. I recognise that life is complex but as Christians our choices must be discerned in the light of the Gospel.
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