Scottish Catholic Observer

Built in 1788, St Gregory’s was one of the first post-Reformation churches in Scotland with the look of a traditional Catholic Church.

Bishop Gilbert said in his homily that St Gregory’s is ‘flamboyant on the inside as well as on the outside; confident in flagging up its Catholicity.’

The church of St Gregory’s predecessor, the long church of St Ninian’s Tynet, was erected by Fr Godsman in 1755, and deliberately made to look like a ‘sheepcote.’

In the mid-1700s, when the Catholic Faith was barely tolerated by the Scottish authorities, Catholics would come from miles across the fields at night to participate in Holy Mass. The narrow windows of St Ninian’s were stuffed with straw to prevent the light from the candles for Mass attracting attention. Fr Godsman even maintained a low profile in the locality by disguising himself as a farmer.

Both St Ninian’s and St Gregory’s were built on the Enzie, an isolated area of the North East of Scotland, where Catholics were protected by the Gordons during the decades of persecution in the 1600s and 1700s.

Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Gilbert on Tuesday July 14 were St Gregory’s parish priest Fr Tad Turski, Fr Colin Stewart in his capacity as dean, and a visiting priest from Malta, Fr Paul Checuti SJ.

The Mass was very well-attended by pilgrims from Buckie, Keith, Fochabers, Elgin and beyond.

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—This story ran in full in the July 24 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.