Scottish Catholic Observer

Staff, pupils, clergy and invited guests gathered at St Luke’s High School in Barrhead on Wednesday March 21, where they marked both 40 years of their school and the centenary year of Catholic state schools in Scotland.

It was a day of celebrating both the old and the new, as the community remembered and gave thanks for the life of the school over the decades, while welcoming a beautiful new gift to enrich St Luke’s spiritual life. The St Luke’s design and technical department presented a stunning new altar that they had created, designed to commemorate the anniversary and the centenary of Catholic education.

The pale wooden altar features engraved images of a dove, a cross and a Bible, with the words ‘love, Faith, understanding’ underneath, along with a quote from St Luke: “For nothing is impossible to God” (Luke 1:37).

The side of the new altar also bears a commemorative inscription reading: “In celebration of 100 years of Catholic education and 40 years of St Luke’s High School.”

Bishop John Keenan of Paisley led the school community in the celebration of Mass, joined by six other members of clergy from across the diocese, including former St Luke’s pupils Fr Vincent Byrne and Fr Matthew Carlin, while the school choir provided a beautiful musical liturgy on the day.

Also present were a number of invited guests, including Councillor Paul O’Kane and education director at East Renfrewshire Council Mhairi Shaw. It proved to be a day of Faith and celebration for the school and the local community as they gave thanks for the many achievements of St Luke’s.