WELCOME Welcome to our celebration of the Jubilee of the foundation of the parish. When Fr Brendan Murphy was given the task of “planting” a new parish it happened while Bishops of the world were gathered in Rome for the last session of the Second Vatican Council. The year St Gregory’s was founded was the year of the pastoral Constitution “The Church in the Modern World”, with its most beautiful beginning:
“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.” Over the last fifty years the parish, like all people, has had its share of joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties. Over the last fifty years we have proclaimed the Good News of God’s love for every human being. We have shared the joys and hopes of families as they marry and have children, raise them to know the Lord’s love and teach them how to serve others. We have marked the griefs and anxieties of people in the sacraments of healing and in our care for the bereaved. Over the years we have focussed on different needs at different times. For many years this was a most child friendly parish with all sorts of groups for children. In time we supported large numbers of asylum seekers who came to our city and our church seeking welcome and respect. In the last couple of years we have been thinking of those caring for the elderly, especially those with dementia. This month we are proud to host the Greater Maryhill Foodbank in our hall. The parish adapts to meet the needs of the people, because nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in the hearts of the followers of Christ.
Over the last ten years our parish has been extended twice. Firstly we expanded to take in half of the former parish of Our Lady of the Assumption Ruchill when it closed. St Gregory’s parish, which was partly formed from St Charles’, North Kelvinside, now has responsibility for that Church and a large part of its pastoral area. In the past there was a parish priest, a couple of curates and a religious sister to look after the pastoral needs of the people, now there is a priest and a deacon. The Jubilee of our Foundation will conclude during a Holy Year of Mercy. As Pope Francis reminds us:
“Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy. The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love.” (Misericordiae Vultus 10) This year of Jubilee is a blessing from the Lord. Thankful, we praise God for many graces he has poured out on his people through our parish. Hopeful, we ask God to continue to give us the grace we need to be the Church he has called us to be.
FR ALLAN CAMERON PARISH PRIEST
19TH FEBRUARY 1965 The Parish of St Gregory Barbarigo was formed when the Archbishop appointed Fr Brendan Murphy as Parish Priest, to found the parish for the newly built Wyndford Estate and parts of the parishes of the Immaculate Conception and St Charles.
17 MARCH 1965 A lot of work went on to find a base to say Mass and to house Fr Murphy. Then, at Easter, Father Hickey, Parish Priest of the neighbouring Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, had just completed a new Presbytery and St. Gregory’s were able to acquire their old house in Bilsland Drive to serve as a temporary Presbytery for 6 years. St Mary’s School Annexe which stood on Maryhill Road had the two rear classrooms transformed into a little Oratory and the first public Mass was celebrated for the parish on St Patrick’s Day 17 March 1965.
28 MARCH 1965 Permission was granted for Sunday Masses to be held in nearby Shakespeare St School, and the first two public Masses were celebrated on 28th March, thereafter, every Sunday morning an army of workers went into operation transporting an altar, seating, vestments, tabernacle, vessels, etc in order that Mass could be celebrated.
JOURNEY TO THE DIACONATE Shortly after coming to Glasgow, Archbishop Mario Conti announced that one of his Pastoral Priorities was the introduction of the Permanent Diaconate. My then Parish Priest, Fr John Lyons, suggested that I go along to the information evening, I was very interested and full questions. That first evening there were over 60 men who came along and we listened to various presentations. After some thought I put my name forward. After a period of meeting together with Fr Paul Murray and our own Fr Allan, who was the Deputy Director of the Diaconate in the Diocese I was accepted for the Propoduetic period, which was a year of prayer and discernment to see if I had a vocation to the Diaconate. During that year the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption closed and I was sent to St Gregory’s for the rest of my discernment year and a further 4 years of training. It had its ups and downs and the academic part was fairly intense with 4 residential weekends, a summer school, 6 major essays and exams each year. This was coupled with numerous tasks within the Parish. I got through it all and was accepted for ordination on 28th June 2009 in St Mary’s Abercromby St. At the ordination I was supported by 100 friends and parishioners.
It’s now 6 years since I was ordained. It’s been a time of great learning, enjoyment and grace. A time where I have had the privilege to share the joys and sometimes the sadness of the people of the Parish. My period as Chaplain to John Paul Academy has also been a time of great grace and a lot of fun. One of the highlights was to accompany a group of staff and 6th Years from the school to the canonisation of patron John Paul II in Rome. What the future holds I have no idea but I’m sure the Lord has a lot more surprises in store for my ministry. It might seem easy to remember it all when one had been there in person all the time. However, the truth is rather different! REV DEACON JIM DEAN
One of the first acts by Fr Murphy was to gain the appointment of Sister Gregory to give help and assistance in the early days. This was to lead to the formation of the “Ladies of Charity”, including my wife, Mary Margaret Graham, along with quite a few other ladies. One of the things that Sr Gregory arranged was to call on some of the houses in the parish, whether Catholic families or not. An early series of lectures set up in the parish was entitled “Know Your Bible.” These were given primarily by Joseph Rhymer in the house of the Sisters of Notre Dame. Using the Good News Bible, an extremely attractive translation, our first homework was to read the first few chapters of St Mark’s Gospel. To myself this was an eye (and ear) opener. With this kind of training provided, Fr Maguire and Fr Hendry were setting up readers for Mass on Sundays to proclaim God’s Word worthily and well. We took part in the deanery activities especially when Archbishop Winning encouraged the Lay Apostolate. One of the subjects I found myself caught up in was talks and meetings about Christian Unity, led by our own parish priest at the time, Fr Gallagher. I would say that the ordination of Fr Keenan (now Bishop of Paisley) and several other vocations from within out parish owes a lot to Fr Gallagher’s influence. With my active parish days well behind me, I am sure others might be reminded or encouraged to think of lots of developments over our fifty years. “Praise the Lord.” JAMES DOUGLAS GRAHAM
FR DESMOND MAGUIRE, FR THOMAS J HENDRY, FR BRENDAN MURPHY
The Parish of St Gregory’s covers areas in the North and West of the City of Glasgow. The origins of the Parish can be traced back to the building of some 1,800 houses in the Wyndford Estate (on the former grounds of Maryhill Barracks, home of the Highland Light Infantry) which required the formation of a new Parish between the two old-established Parishes, Immaculate Conception, Maryhill, and St. Charles’, North Kelvinside.
MARYHILL BARRACKS IN 1946, HOME OF THE HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY.
DEVELOPER’S MODEL PLAN OF THE WYNDFORD HOUSING ESTATE MARYHILL.
RIVER KELVIN
KELVINDALE ROAD
Eventually in 1968 the parish obtained part of the site of the disused Dawsholm Engine Shed (closed in 1964). It had been a brick-built 6-track dead-ended shed with a 2-track repair shop. There was a turntable and a coaling stage set on a ramp. Previous negotiations had been underway and Glasgow Corporation had acquired the site from British Railways to fit in with the new proposed Kelvin Walkway.
RANDOM REFLECTIONS Archbishop Scanlon on visiting the Vatican heard Pope John XXIII’s eulogy at the canonisation of one of his predecessors as Bishop of Bergamo, Gregory Barbarigo, and was most impressed. He therefore resolved that the next new parish in the Archdiocese of Glasgow would be devoted to the new Saint Gregory Barbarigo. Maryhill Barracks, which had been the home of the Highland Light Infantry, was now vacant and the local authority had chosen this site to build the new Wyndford housing scheme. Archbishop Scanlon summoned Fr Brendan Murphy of St Columba’s to inform his that he would assume responsibility for the new parish. While still residing at St Columba’s Fr Murphy applied himself to the task of recruiting helpful support, in addition to Fr Willie Donnelly, one of the new ordinands. He approached the Daughters of Charity in Wilton Street to gain religious support and was awarded Sr Gregory. The parish of Our Lady of the Assumption in Ruchill had a new presbytery in Bisland Drive, and it was arranged for the old presbytery to be occupied by the priests for St Gregory’s. Plans were put in place to provide Mass for the community, and with the feast of St Patrick, 17 March, chosen for the first public Mass. Fr Murphy persuaded St Mary’s school annexe on Maryhill Road to vacate a children’s cloakroom at the rear of the school, which he could adapt to provide an oratory for St Gregory’s. The cloakroom racks remained and therefore space for a congregation was exceedingly small, the majority of the people attended Mass standing in the open air, but sheltered from the gaze of passerby’s on Maryhill Road by the school building. When attending the Mass in the open air of Bellahouston Park in 1982 with Pope John Paul II, the parishioners learnt that this was an event that had cast its shadow before.
For Sunday Mass, a larger venue was required, and so the parish hired Shakespeare Street School . Frank Thom (RIP), our Nazareth Help, a local carpenter fashioned an Altar and Lectern, which could be collapsed and stored in the Janitor’s store. Masses would be celebrated in the Assembly Hall each Sunday and a large number of helpers would prepare the hall, carrying chairs from the school canteen to set up for Mass. Sister Gregory recuited help to dress the Altar. After Mass the same helpers returned the chairs to the proper place and dissembled the Altar. Until St Mary’s annexe was vacated and could be converted to a temporary church, the parish had to rely on the oratory and Sunday use of Shakespeare Street School for all community Masses. A seach for a suitable site where we could build a church complex of our own continued. The City Fathers offered the parish the Garrison Church, the chapel of the HLI Barracks, but it was felt to be unsuitable. In the meantime Fr Willie Donnelly was reassigned and replaced by Fr Desmond Maguire and Fr Tommy Hendry. The current site of the church was eventually acquired, and until its completion in 1971, the priests continued to reside in Bisland Drive, and the oratory in St Mary’s Annexe was still used for Mass. On the 13th June 1971, after many trials and tribulations, the first Mass was celebrated in our new church. Sr Gregory’s brother, Fr Bartholomew Egan, a Franciscan priest, visited the new church and celebrated Sunday Mass for us. He was provincial archivist for his order in Ireland. Another Franciscan priest who celebrated Mass for us was Fr Cormac McAteer, the Custos of the Holy Places. His older sister, Mrs Cathie Scanlon, resided on the 13th floor of 171 Wyndford Rd. Fr Willie Donnelly, the first curate, had a cousin, Bishop Agnellus Andrew, also a Franciscan, who was appointed by Pope John Paul II as head of communications for the Vatican. When our Golden Jubilee occurs in the reign of the Pope who chose to assume the name of Il Poverello of Assisi, had such events also cast their shadow before. FRANK KELLY
JANUARY 1966 ST GREGORY’S SCOUT TROOP 129 WAS FORMED IN GARRIOCH SCHOOL BY FR DONNELLY AND MR MCINTOSH, SCOUTMASTER.
FR WILLIAM B DONNELLY FIRST CURATE 1966
FEBRUARY 1966 Sr Gregory was appointed to the parish, and made such an impact in the life of the parish, many organisations came to life. Sr Gregory & the Marians met in Oratory and they immediately made plans to organise activities for the young girls. The Girls Club opened in the Annexe and moved to St Gregory’s School when it opened in 1967. The activities in the Girls club over the years included Irish Dancing: Theresa Jennow (nee McGhee), Highland Dancing Mary McNulty (Nee Leonard), Recorder, Bagpipes chanter class (Mr Andrew Fagan), Arts & Crafts (Margaret Campbell), Admission register (Mrs Joan Kelly), Hip Hop dancing (Susan Sheerin), Netball (Jaci Dillon) Gymnastics & Physical Activities (Jean Bredin).
THE MARIAN ASSOCIATION
Joe Keenan moved into St Gregory’s Parish in the late sixties and, from then on his life, in one way or another, revolved around it. Living out his vocation as a husband and a father he was never happier to see his family actively involved in the parish. Though the long hours he spend as a newsagent in the Gorbals initially limited his own direct involvement in the parish, he set the tone at home for his children to be in the parish’s thriving youth ministry whether it be the Cubs or Guides, Boys or Girls Clubs. He made sure his sons were altar servers that the parish priests could rely not just on Sundays. All that the priest needed to do was call Joe at home and the boys would be down to serve devotions, funerals and weddings. The family grew up knowing that they were part of the bigger family of St Gregory’s. The visit of Pope John Paul to Glasgow was a joy beyond his greatest imagination and he saw it as a special honour to be a steward at it. Afterwards, in the climate of renewal, he encouraged his children to get involved in the Renewal programme and use their talents for the parish in Music Group and Youth Club. After his retirement it was his turn to give of his time and talents to the parish. He became one of the parish sacristans, took his turn cleaning the church every Monday morning and ran the altar servers group, himself leading by example and serving daily at morning Mass. He loved daily Mass so much that his frequent visits to the Maryhill Shopping Centre almost always involved a chat to some sad soul and the encouragement to come back to Mass. Without any formation he knew what it meant to take his responsibility as a layman in the Church, spreading the Gospel as salt, leaven and light. If Joe was not out evangelising in the local shopping centre he was there from morning till evening during December selling raffle tickets for the Christmas Draw. Between the raffle and the parish dances, which he put on monthly, Joe raised thousands of pounds for the parish.
A simple, down to earth Glasgow Catholic, Joe’s life was his family and his faith, lived out as a member of the family of St Gregory’s. He had no love for meetings or grand ideas and just liked to get on with the work at hand of building up the parish in the way he could and with the gifts he had. He gave all his time, energy and love to this and it brought him great joy and fulfilment. Joe was rarely without a smile on his face, an opinion about the Church to offer, a passion for souls and a vibrant joy for the Gospel. In The Joy of the Gospel Pope Francis says that
‘The new evangelisation calls for the personal involvement of all the baptised. Anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or length of training to go out and proclaim that love. We are always missionary disciples. So what are we waiting for!’ These words would have been music to Joe Keenan’s ears and more or less sum up his daily life. BISHOP JOHN KEENAN
With the opening of St Gregory’s School in Wyndford, St Mary’s Annexe school became vacant, the long one storey ‘hut’ building was transformed into the Church, with a ‘classroom’ foyer at each end which gave accommodation for groups to be formed and meetings and small social events held in the entrance foyers. The wooden hut Church was very special to people and very convenient.
MY FAMILY AND ST GREGORY’S My family were involved in the parish from when we moved into the Wyndford in June 1965. My Mum (Mary Marshall), Gran (Margaret Hamilton), sister Margaret, and myself were involved from the outset and helped with the setting up for Mass in Shakespeare Street School. Margaret organised the piety stall and often led the hymn singing at Mass. When the oratory opened for Sunday Mass we still carried on the piety stall duties. When Margaret married Tony (Anthony) in 1968, my mum and I carried on with the piety stall for many years, buying stock from Sands in Cambridge Street, then at the Briggait when it moved. When mum, who was the housekeeper for the priests, was required on Sundays, my Dad, Danny Marshall, took over the duties with the piety stall, until his health failed in the late 1970s. My mum was also involved with the Ladies Church Cleaning Group and the Altar Society, formed by Sr Gregory, which looked after the sanctuary, vestments etc. She was also involved with the Ladies of Charity who visited the housebound and often arranged for them to come to a special Mass, followed by tea in the hall. They also organised outings for them in the summer time. One of the other things my mum did, was she visited the sick and housebound monthly to inform them that the Parish Priest would be visiting the next day with Holy Communion. As most homes did not have a telephone, this entailed going round parish, up and down tenements in the Valley, Maryhill and Garrioch districts, often pushing the grandchildren in their pram. She was the first President of the Union of Catholic Mothers when it was formed in the parish in 1976, and remained a member until her health failed, being admitted to hospital and then a care home until her death in 1997. Eight of our clergy returned to concelebrate her funeral Mass. JEAN
Fr Gallagher & Mary Marshall 1987
ST GREGORY’S CHURCH - FEBRUARY 1971 LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE Archbishop Scanlan laid the foundation stone of the £160,000 Church. A piece of rock from Massabielle hillside at Lourdes where Our Lady stood during the apparitions to St Bernadette, and where the spring of miraculous water has continued to flow, was enclosed in the casket placed under the stone. A set of Britain’s new decimal coins was also enclosed.
GOD AND MARY AN APPRECIATION OF SISTER GREGORY Nothing could start for Sister Gregory without reference to God or Mary. It would be like trying to breathe without air. She would pay a visit to the Blessed Sacrament before setting out on the Lord’s work. She always carried a crucifix in her pocket and a place was seldom left without at least one recipient of a Miraculous Medal. No one except God himself will ever know the work that Sister Gregory did. She was just short of having the gift of bi-location. There was no one who crossed her path - Jew, Greek, Muslim, Protestant or alien from outer space which she did not help in some way. She was not a pious do-gooder martyr. She had her full wits about her, as one helper at the Christmas Day party found to his cost. It was the thoughtful way she held a party on Christmas Day for those who were alone on that day. One gentleman was put in charge of the refreshments, some of which were of the alcoholic variety. It was not due to evaporation that the contents were going further down than the laws of science allowed. We were thinking how we could inform Sister that the said man was sampling the elixir of life! But before anybody could ‘clipe’, he was being firmly but discreetly told to refrain from the aforesaid activity. It did not go unnoticed either that the butcher who said
“Oh yes, Sister, I’ll carve the turkeys and you’ll get 108 slices.” Only 76 were counted on the day. His carving days were over.
The Dillon family was of great help to her on these occasions. They were in the Marians, Cadettes and her girls’ club. Among other names in these organisations were McCarron, Agnew, Davidson, McArthur, Kelly and Mulgrew. The girls’ club she organised with the loyal help of Jean Bredin, a friend and helper over many years. She gave Sister a great amount of reliable help. Sister Gregory always referred to the assistance Jean had given to her. The activities included trips to the Rue du Bac in Paris, to the House of Commons in London, summer day trips, including Carfin. Every year the club saved up and they went out for a meal to a top hotel, where the older girls showed the younger ones how to choose from a menu, use the correct knives and forks and to conduct themselves properly in such places. The girls did the tallying up and settling of the bill. Jacqueline and Pauline Dillon contributed a lot. Sister used all these social skills to prepare 140 girls that were in the club, for interviews for jobs. In fact, she used to run mock interviews before they went. She would use any talent that a parishioner had... A businessman would be prevailed upon to give tips on how to write letters for a job. Someone else would show the girls how to set the letter out and type It. Often she would give them a lift to College to collect their application forms. Every talent anybody had was utilised. In fact if your talent were plucking eyebrows, Sister would have said:
“Now aren’t we lucky to have you. If you just go down to see Mrs. Burns, that’s the very thing you could do for her. Or, maybe you could do some shopping for her and on the way up you could call in on Mrs. McDonald.” If God gave you the talent, Sister Gregory put it to good use. As Catherine Dillon said to me, sister was the same with everybody, 100% genuine.
She thought that a book lying around would eventually be picked up. So she bought little simple books for children, colourful, simple books, but they still cost money. Whenever I went to the “holy” shop with her, the man who owned it paled. He knew there was never going to be a financial profit in this transaction. The discount he offered was met by the refrain “but it is for the poor children”, and he was practically begging Sister to take it by the time she was finished with him. When I used to go to the shop on my own, he would say, “I hope you haven’t learned any tricks from that Sister.” We would also share “custom” with a well-known bookshop run by an order of nuns. Here Sister had to be ruthless, as discount didn’t come up to her standard. The bill for “the poor children’s books” was, with discount, £28. Sister announced that she only had £25 and that was all they were getting.
I hope they have now recovered their breath! Sister’s work encompassed all ages and situations: Weddings rectified, old people visited by herself, running the Ladies of Charity, jobs sought for the unemployed, Communion taken to the sick, church magnificently readied for every festival . She used to grow the greenery for the altar and with her volunteers decorated the altar and church magnificently for every feast. Her activities were too numerous to mention. Father Gallagher, the parish priest paid her this great compliment when she was transferred to another house: “Losing Sister Gregory is like losing two curates.” They must have been two very hardworking curates! God reward her. It was the only reward she ever wished for, all her life.
VOCATIONS One way of measuring the health and vibrancy of a parish is by the way in which God’s call to serve the People of God is answered by the young people of that parish. The parish of St Gregory Barbarigo has been very blessed with vocations. The parish started off well. James Gallcher of Shawpark St was ordained for the Salesians in 1967, celebrating Mass in St Gregory’s on the 23 December and offering his first priestly blessings. Vocations are not just to the priesthood of course, Sister Agnes McGarvie left Invershin Drive in Wyndford to serve the poor in the Daughters of Charity, joining Sr Eileen Glancy, who although a resident of St Charles parish is well known to us in St Gregory’s. The 1990s were the high point with three ordinations to the priesthood, Fr Joseph Keenan in June 1993, followed by his brother, John now Bishop of Paisley in June 1995 and then Fr Alex Strachan in June 1997.
Fr Alex’s sister, Hilda Strachan, also explored the call to the religious life with the Missionaries of Charity, though ill-health prevented her taking final vows. Another parishioner Brian Pearson joined the Salesian Order.
At Fr Alex Strachan’s first Mass we can see Fr John and Joseph Keenan along with Fr Carlo Centra, the parish priest and Fr Charles McElwee.
ST GREGORY’S FUN RUN As a parish we have been blessed with our annual fun run, whilst raising funds locally for Yorkhill Hospital, Alzheimer Scotland, St Margaret of Scotland Hospice or internationally for SCiAF Horn and East of Africa Drought Emergency Appeal, we have had lots of fun doing so. The fun run now has been running for 11 years and has quite literally brought great enjoyment to all our community, bringing families together and giving the opportunity for us all to get to know each other a little better. As an added bonus our annual fun runs have collectively raised over £28,000.
ST GREGORY’S LIBRARY Part of St Gregory Barbarigo’s legacy to his diocese in Padua in Italy is a library, founded so that the priests and people would have access to books that would help them develop their knowledge and love of God. In the days before the internet, libraries were the information super-highway. In keeping with St Gregory’s way of doing things, Fr Mark Morris and Fr Joseph Mackle decided to turn the original “cry-chapel” in the porch into a parish library. Books and other media were donated from various sources, so that we have a great pastoral resource. The library is small, but compact and offers a good selection of Catholic books to suit those who want to learn more about the Catholic faith. The books are arranged by subject matter in different units. Although not in alphabetical order, a few minutes browsing them will soon provide a suitable choice. They are available for anyone to borrow and return. We have Bibles, New Testaments and books with explanations about the Scripture. There are sections about the Church, its history and teaching, especially on moral and ethical questions. Other books deal with the lives of Jesus, Mary and the saints, old and new. There are devotional books which provide guidance on prayer and deepening our union with God. We also have a section for children, offering attractive, simple stories from Jonah to Jesus. These colourful books are popular among our younger borrowers. It is a multi-media library, with DVDs of religious films, such as “Jesus of Nazareth” and “The Song of Bernadette” as well as CDs and cassettes (remember them?) of spiritual talks and music. The library is open when the church is open and there are a couple of comfy chairs for the use of. The library, like all libraries should be is free; all we ask is that you write the details of your borrowed items in the jotters provided, and the date when you return them. This just helps us keep track of where things are. For this we thank you. VERA
THE CHINESE CONNECTION Fr Gerry Dunn was asked by Cardinal Winning to have a special care for the Chinese Community in Glasgow. He had served as a missionary in the Far East, and the Columban Missionaries had a particular interest in the Chinese Mission. Mass in Cantonese began to be celebrated here in St Gregory’s. Over the years the Chinese population in Glasgow has grown and so has our care for them. The original Chinese who came to Glasgow tended to have come from Hong Kong or the Canton province, hence Fr Dunn’s Mass in Cantonese. As time has gone on more and more of the Chinese population have come from mainland China, where Mandarin is the main language. Fr Allan has taken over the duty of the monthly Mass in Cantonese from Fr Dunn. With the help of the Columbans a priest who speaks Mandarin, Fr Joseph Liang is now coming up from London every second month to say Mass in Mandarin.
THE COLUMBANS COME TO STAY The Columban Missionaries had a large house in Kingsborough Gardens in Partick. As part of their commitment to social justice and looking to the future they were keen to “downsize.” Fr Mark Morris, the last curate of St Gregory’s, was appointed parish priest of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish. This meant that the large chapel house, built for three or four priests and a housekeeper, would now just have Fr Joseph Mackle rattling around on his own. These two facts came together, and so the Columbans gave up their large house and came to reside in St Gregory’s Chapel house. Fr Declan McNaughton and Fr Gerry Dunn duly moved in. Although their main work was to support the missionary work of their order by making mission appeals in parishes all around Scotland, they became part and parcel of the life of St Gregory’s, there’s hardly a house in Wyndford without a Columban Calendar. In due course Fr Gerry Dunn’s health failed and he took up residence in Nazareth House. Fr Declan recently had a health issue and currently Fr Gerry Mackie has joined the community. St Columban died in 615 in Bobbio in Italy, this year the Columban Missionaries celebrate the 1400th anniversary of his death. We give thanks for the constant reminder to be part of the missionary life of the Church that the Columbans remind us to be.
FR MARK MORRIS
FR JOHN MCAULEY AND FR CHARLES MCELWEE
FR GALLAGHER SISTER JOSEPH
FR CARLO CENTRA
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE LIFE OF ST GREGORY BARBARIGO Gregory Barbarigo, was born in Venice of an ancient and noble house. His mother died while he was very young and his father looked after his education.
We remember the need for strong family life and the importance of education. At the age of nineteen, while attending the Peace Congress at MĂźnster at the instance of the Apostolic Nuncio, Fabio Chigi, he decided to consecrate himself to the service of the Church.
We remember the need to discern God’s call and the importance of being peacemakers. After Gregory was ordained to the priesthood, it was this same Chigi, now Pope Alexander VII, who nominated him to the Bishopric of Bergamo, then created him a cardinal and finally transferred him to the Bishopric of Padua.
We remember the importance of obedience and to pray for our Pope. In carrying out his pastoral duties, he imitated the zeal of St. Charles Borromeo and laboured until the end of his life at the task of putting into effect the reform of the Council of Trent concerning the uprooting of vice and the promotion of virtue.
We remember that the Church is in constant need of reform, uprooting vice and promoting virtue is still essential to the life of the church.
He enlarged the seminaries of both Bergamo and Padua; he added to the prestige of the latter city, particularly, by establishing a library there, and also a printing press for the purpose of publishing books for the peoples of the Near East in their own language.
We remember the need for vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life, and the quality of their formation. He took special pains to promote catechetical instructions and made it a special point to visit every village of his diocese, teaching and encouraging wherever he went.
We remember the needs of our Diocese and to pray for our bishop. He was remarkable for his works of charity and holiness of life, being so generous to the needy and the poor that he sold his furniture, his clothing and even his bed in order to help them.
We remember the command of Christ, that whatever we do to the least, we do to Him. At length, after a short illness he fell asleep peacefully in the Lord on June 15, 1697. Famous for merit and virtue, he was beatified by Clement XIII and added to the list of saints by John XXIII.
We remember that we too are called to holiness and sainthood.
A MOVING TIME I suppose it was inevitable when the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, Ruchill was closed in November 2005, but it still came as a shock. For those of us who had been Parishioners since its foundation we were very emotional and upset by its closure. However over the last few weeks we came to meetings to look at how the former Parish would be divided in terms of moving to new Parishes. In all around 45 of us made our way on the First Sunday of Advent 2005 to join our new Parish. Many of our older members came clothed for the cold we had been used to a very cold church! However half way through the first Mass they felt very warm because of the heating in our new Church!! That first Sunday we were made very welcome - the parishioners of St Gregory’s didn’t complain when we sat in the seats that they had occupied for years. Over the years we have become absorbed in our new parish having brought many gifts and talents as well as the Stations of the Cross, a couple of statues and numerous other items from our old Church. In 2015 were here to stay and rejoice in the Golden Jubilee of our new Parish.
ST GREGORY’S CHURCH 130 KELVINDALE ROAD GLASGOW G20 8DP TEL: 0141 946 3009 EMAIL: BARBARIGO130@TISCALI.CO.UK