Scottish Catholic Observer

The Pontifical Scots College in Rome has marked 400 years of priestly formation on the Feast of St John Ogilvie and Archbishop Philip Tartaglia said the martyr remains an inspiration for today’s seminarians.

As part of the events to mark the anniversary, the college community was invited to the general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday to site near the Pope shortly after the SCO went to press.

Visiting the college last weekend following anniversary events in Glasgow, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, the Archbishop of Glasgow, said he was delighted to be there for the feast day and welcomed special guest Cardinal James Harvey—Archpriest of the Basilica of St Paul’s outside the Walls—to the Pontifical Scots College.

Archbishop Tartaglia said the feast day was always ‘a day of special celebration and joy here in the college’ adding ‘this year is even more special.’

“The conclusion of Scotland’s and Glasgow’s 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of St John in 1615 coincides with the 400th anniversary of the Mission Oath,” he said. “The Mission Oath was a promise made by the students of the Scots College Rome in 1616, inspired by the martyrdom of John Ogilvie the year before in Glasgow, to return to Scotland as priests to renew the Catholic Faith, which had been suppressed; and to minister to the remnant of the Catholic community, which was suffering persecution. Ogilvie and the men who took the Mission Oath remain an inspiration for today’s seminarians.”

The archbishop also said he was ‘very pleased that American Cardinal James Michael Harvey, came to celebrate the feast day Mass with the college community.’

Archbishop Tartaglia also said that in ‘the 400th anniversary year of St John Ogilvie we have seen a development of the profile of our saint.’

“He is a saint for the Catholic Church, a saint for Scotland, a saint for Glasgow, a saint for the Society of Jesus, a saint for other Christians and a saint for all people of faith who treasure their freedom of worship and of conscience,” he said.

“The spiritual legacy of St John Ogilvie is still unfolding.”

Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh, a former student of the college, said the martyrdom of St John Ogilvie was an inspiration now and to the original seminarians who went ‘back to the mission and to live out their faith there.’

Originally located in Rome’s historic centre, the Scots College moved out north along the city’s Via Cassia back in 1964.

—[email protected]

—This story ran in full in the march 18 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.