The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Pope Francis RIP

17th December 1936 – 21st April 2025

May he rest in peace

Message of Bishop Keenan President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

It was with deep sadness that we woke to the news that Pope Francis has died and we share in the sense of loss of millions of people across the world. It is a consolation to us that he went to the LORD on Easter Monday and the great Easter Day as a sort of first fruits of the salvation which the Risen Christ shares with His Church.

We thank GOD for the Pope’s service which was always human and humble in its informal style and with a message of GOD’s universal love and unconditional mercy that brought hope to so many.

A man of the poor who lived simply, Pope Francis was a voice for the voiceless and all those who find themselves on the margins in our world. A man of peace, he called the Church to listen to everyone, to move forward together as a family, to find a conciliatory approach to those of different beliefs and lifestyles, for an end to conflicts across the world and for the care of Creation as GOD’s precious gift to humanity.

He gave of himself to the end, offering up his final illness with serenity, his last acts being to visit Rome’s prison on Holy Thursday and to wish the crowds gathered in Saint Peter’s a Happy Easter.

We pray he will be enjoying the full fruits of the Resurrection, resting from his work, his good deeds going with him.

May he rest in peace.

Bishop John Keenan

The Roman Catholic Bishops in Scotland work together to undertake nationwide initiatives through their Commissions and Agencies.

The members of the Bishops' Conference are the Bishops of the eight Scottish Dioceses. Where appropriate the Bishops Emeriti (retired) provide a much welcomed contribution to the work of the conference. The Bishops' Conference of Scotland is a permanently constituted assembly which meets regularly throughout the year to address relevant business matters.

Click here to visit the Jubilee 2025 website

The Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,

may the faith you have given us

in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth,

when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,

your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

News from the Commissions and Agencies

December 2024

29Dec

Holy Family Sunday

29 Dec, 2024 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Holy Family Sunday
Pray for your family!

We bless your name, O Lord,
for sending your own incarnate Son,
to become part of a family,
so that, as he lived its life,
he would experience its worries and its joys.
We ask you, Lord,
to protect and watch over this family,
so that in the strength of your grace
its members may enjoy prosperity,
possess the priceless gift of your peace,
and, as the Church alive in the home,
bear witness in this world to your glory.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

29Dec

Photos from Justice & Peace Scotland's post

29 Dec, 2024 | Justice & Peace Scotland | Justice & Peace Scotland Facebook |

📸 A look back on 2024 at Justice & Peace Scotland...

✨Our highlight of the year is of course "Hope For Peace For Gaza: A Conversation with Fr Gabriel Romanelli". Alongside SCIAF and the Archdiocese of Glasgow we were honoured to host Fr Gabriel in Scotland in April 2024. Thank you to all who joined us at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall for the talk, at St Andrew's Cathedral for the mass, or who shared the joint declaration for peace issued by Archbishop Nolan and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to mark the occasion.

✝️In August we coordinated a Christian Peace Witness vigil at Faslane Nuclear base where Archbishop Nolan was joined by leaders from the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church to voice our joint opposition to the existence of nuclear weapons. The event coincided with the commemoration of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings - the 80th anniversary of which we will mark in 2025.

💰Our ongoing Fair Work in Social Care campaign in collaboration with the Church of Scotland took us to Holyrood in September, where we met with Michael Matheson MSP and put forward our case for better pay and conditions in the social care sector.

🚌Alongside Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees we have lobbied the Scottish Government throughout the year to uphold their commitment to provide free bus travel for people seeking asylum. A highlight of this campaign was our joint parliamentary briefing sent to MSPs ahead of a debate on the budget in December, from which our reminder that the holy family were once refugees was directly referenced during the debate by seven MSPs in the Chamber.

🪧We have been present at many peaceful demonstrations in 2024 including those calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, an interfaith vigil at the Scottish Parliament during COP29, and various solidarity gatherings outside Dungavel Detention Centre.

⛪And finally we have travelled to numerous schools and parishes across the country to talk with young people and parishioners about Catholic Social Teaching, human dignity, and our mission to build up God's kingdom of love, justice, and peace by putting the principles of CST into action.

🕊️"If you want peace, work for justice." - Pope Paul VI

28Dec

History of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland

28 Dec, 2024 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://www.bcos.org.uk/Catholic-Scotland/History

In time, with considerable courage, colleges were established secretly in Scotland, in remote locations and under primitive conditions, Loch Morar in the West Highlands and Scalan in the Braes of Glenlivet being the best known. Both suffered at the hands of government soldiers after the Jacobite up...

28Dec

Photos from Holy Year Scotland 2025's post

28 Dec, 2024 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

28Dec

The Holy Year opens in our diocese with a pilgrimage moving towards the Cathedral behind the cross prepared by Holy Cross High S...

28 Dec, 2024 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

The Holy Year opens in our diocese with a pilgrimage moving towards the Cathedral behind the cross prepared by Holy Cross High School for the jubilee – a pilgrim people behind the cross of Christ which remains the anchor of salvation.

People are invited to gather at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Carfin at 1pm on Sunday 29th December for a short gathering that introduces the pilgrimage and the opening of the Holy Year. Bishop Toal, with a small group of young people, will then make the first part of the pilgrimage towards the Cathedral.

At 2.30pm, all people from across the Diocese are invited to gather in St Bride’s Hall (across from the Cathedral) for another gathering time on the journey behind the cross and for the short pilgrimage to the Cathedral, the veneration of the Cross, a memorial of our baptism and the celebration of Mass on the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

28Dec

Jubilee.mp4

28 Dec, 2024 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

28Dec

Pope Francis makes surprise appearance on BBC’s Thought for the Day

28 Dec, 2024 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Pope Francis makes surprise appearance on BBC’s Thought for the Day

28Dec

Pray for all victims of abortion children mothers and fathers on this Feast if the Holy Innocents 🙏

28 Dec, 2024 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Pray for all victims of abortion children mothers and fathers on this Feast if the Holy Innocents 🙏

The Holy Innocents: The First Martyrs for Christ - The Holy Innocents are the patron saints of foundlings, babies, and children's choirs. Unofficially, they are often invoked in pro-life issues. Read about the biblical story of these child martyrs-->> https://www.scross.co.za/2024/12/the-holy-innocents-the-first-martyrs-for-christ/

28Dec

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19cbD4qfBw/?mibextid=wwXIfr

28 Dec, 2024 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19cbD4qfBw/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The Holy Year which began in Rome on Christmas eve will leave its mark on St Andrew’s Cathedral … as the sanctuary area will play host to a newly commissioned cross for the next 12 months
The Jubilee Year will open in every Cathedral of the world on Sunday December 29. The Vatican has drawn up a liturgical celebration which will see a special ‘Jubilee Year Cross’ placed in each Cathedral.
In Glasgow a new cross has been created which will be placed above the Archbishop’s ‘cathedra’ or chair on the rear wall of the sanctuary behind the altar throughout the Holy Year.
It will be a Greek cross (each arm of equal length) made of wood with the traditional symbols of St Mungo (bird, fish, bell and tree) represented at the extremities of the cross while at the centre the symbol of the 2025 Jubilee will feature bearing the image of ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
All welcome at the Cathedral on Sunday at 12 noon Mass with the Archbishop to mark the start of our Holy Year.

27Dec

A post from Bishops' Conference of Scotland

27 Dec, 2024 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |