Scottish Catholic Observer

The martyrdom of St John Ogilvie inspired the original students at Scots College in Rome to become priests so, as the year of observing the 400th anniversary of St John Ogilvie’s death in Glasgow comes to an end, how fitting that this milestone have been marked in Scotland and in Rome, at the Pontifical Scots College with the Archbishop of Glasgow at them all. Today, as then, our Church flourishes thanks to its priests—established, new and in formation.

In light of the 400th celebrations in Rome last weekend, Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh said the college has an excellent body of men training for the priesthood, while three more students have also been sent to the Royal Scots College in Salamanca, so ‘our numbers are gradually heading in the right direction.’ Of course, he adds, ‘bishop are greedy, they always want more (vocations)… but we’re going to keep working at that.’

Congratulations to Scots College seminary on its 400th anniversary, proving that truly great things can be achieved by following the example of our saints.

Here in Scotland the 400th year of the martyr’s death closed with an ecumenical celebration of St John Ogilvie, with dedication of newly commissioned icon, at St Aloysius, Garnethill, Glasgow, and Mass at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow. Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, was at both events.

Like the coming 500th anniversary of the Reformation, this anniversary of St John Ogilvie’s death has presented challenges for the ecumenical movement. As Archbishop Tartaglia said, however, although there ‘was no getting away’ from the fact St John Ogilive was a victim of ‘the spiritual and social and cultural storm of the Reformation in Scotland which very thoroughly purged almost all of this land of the Catholic Church,’ said he should not be viewed strictly in that light.

“If the goal of the ecumenical movement, full visible communion, escapes us still and seems as far away as ever, there is a very real and effective ecumenism of friendship, prayer, witness and service which is a great good and which keeps the hope alive,” the archbishop said.

“Oh—and an ecumenism of martyrdom too, because, as the Pope said, the martyrs belong to all Christians. So, even as the Catholic community rejoices for St John Ogilvie, I offer St John Ogilvie… as a martyr for all Scots Christians, so that we may together reap the rich harvest of faith and love which his blood has sown in our land.”