There's lots coming up for young people and young adults in the Archdiocese - read on!

Firstly, and after the great success of the visit of the relics of St. John Bosco earlier in the month, a new initiative gets underway this Thursday, 31st January - his feast day.  The Don Bosco Teachers' Group is intended as support for teachers in Catholic schools.

The first meeting takes place in the Eyre Hall of the Diocesan Offices, Clyde Street (next to St. Andrew's cathedral) at 7.30pm. All interested teachers are welcome - email catward7@live.co.uk for more information.

Secondly, with this Friday being 1st February (already!), XPO is on at the Youth Pastoral Centre from 7.30-9pm.

Music, input, Eucharistic Adoration, a chance to meet other young Catholics... it's all good!  New and old faces always welcome.  For directions see here.

We're continuing our current Year of Faith series - trying to answer the questions other people ask about Catholicism!  This month: defending belief in the existence of God.

Thirdly, AGAP's annual Lentfest gets underway soon (at the beginning of Lent, in fact!) and with the programme just released, now's the time to book tickets!

See www.agap.org.uk for more information.  This year's Lentfest promises to be as brilliant and faith-filled as ever so whether you're into music, poetry, film, visual art, or drama, there's something for you.

(At least one member of the Youth Pastoral Team is delighted that this year kicks off with a whole lorra brass!)

Fourthly, our youth ministry colleagues south of the Border have extended an invitation to the annual CYMFed Congress on Saturday 16th March.

Congress 2013: The Faith Story takes place at The Sage, Gateshead, which is great for us as it means no long journey down to London!

This is going to be an excellent day for youth leaders, parents, catechists, teachers, priests... you? A volunteer in need of a boost, or just received the Caritas Award and taking the next step in sharing your faith: you're welcome!

Let us know ASAP if you're 16+ and would like to go.  We'll book tickets and transport as a group and cost is likely to be c.£40 for a day trip, or c.£75 with an overnight stay on Friday or Saturday (optional).

Fifthly, (and finally, because I'm not even sure "fifthly" is a real word!) it's now only 178 days until World Youth Day 2013: Scotland's Rio!

The good news is that the application deadline has been extended to 28th February. Don't twiddle your thumbs though - spaces are limited. More info on the World Youth Day tab, forms on the Downloads tab, event website coming soon at www.scotlandsrio.org.uk - get organised and get your name down pronto!

We were blessed to get 2013 off to a cracking start with the visit of the relics of St. John Bosco to the Cathedral on 4th January.

Don Bosco, as he is more commonly known, is the principal patron of young people.  During his lifetime he founded the Salesian order, a worldwide family of religious, priests, and lay people dedicated to the flourishing of young people.

The visit of the relics to the UK is part of a world-wide pilgrimage, building up to the 200th anniversary of Don Bosco’s birth in 2015. The Pilgrimage began on 31st January 2009 and as this event moves around the world it is raising awareness of Don Bosco’s spirituality and the importance of young people in the Church.

More than 1800 people came throughout the day to pray with Don Bosco and take part in the pilgrim experience!

From Glasgow the relics convoy moved on to Carfin grotto, then across the border to the cathedrals of Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, Westminster, and Southwark.  Don Bosco even stopped off at Feltham young offenders' institution.

For the duration of the pilgrimage the Scottish Youth Cross has been at St. Andrew's Cathedral, inviting visitors and parishioners to pray for YOU, and all young people, at the beginning of the year.

Now the cross continues on its own journey around the dioceses Scotland ahead of Scotland's Rio, the next big event for young Catholics coming up in July.  If you've not already sent in your application form, do it NOW!  Get one from your parish priest or download it from our website.  More info on the World Youth Day tab and in the pack.

St. Andrew the Apostle, who brought his brother Peter to Jesus, is Scotland's principal patron saint - and we're very proud to have him to pray for us.

What does St. Andrew mean to you?  We don't hear many words from him in the Gospels.   "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:41) and at the feeding of the 5,000: "Here is a boy with five small loaves of barley bread. He also has two small fish. But how far will that go in such a large crowd?" (John 6:9).  What St. Andrew does do, though - like John the Baptist - is point to Jesus.  Called as the first apostle, he couldn't tell his brother enough about Jesus to convince him to follow.  All he could do is encourage Peter, and say: "We have found the Messiah", bringing him to Jesus and letting the Lord do the rest.

Don't be afraid to point others to Jesus, and stay close to Him yourself.  You don't need a ton of wisdom or philosophy; it might bring you hardship or persecution - St. Andrew was martyred on the saltire - but it is a great task, and one that will bring us true happiness.  If we can all be a bit more like St. Andrew from this day on, we'll have celebrated his feast well.

St. Andrew the Apostle, first-called and protector of Scotland, pray for us!

Archbishop Philip is on his way home from Rome after three weeks at the Synod of Bishops, which ended yesterday with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.

Wednesday 17th October

This is the day the Synod changed gear. Cardinal Wuerl gave the second of his two big reports, the “Report after the Discussion”, which is the signal for the language groups to go into action. More about that tomorrow.

Just before the afternoon working session today, Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham came up to me in to the Synod Hall and said, “Philip, there’s a family from your former parish looking for you outside the entrance to the Vatican City. They said they would come back at 7pm and wait for us coming out. They would love to see you.”

At 7pm, after the session, I went to the gate and they were there right enough. It was Gerry and Marie Thomson, whom I had married when I was Parish Priest in St. Mary’s, Duntocher, and their twin daughters, whom I had baptised. It was lovely to meet them. I was in my bishop’s robes (as we all are for the formal sessions), so we greeted each other and posed together for a photograph in front of smiling Swiss guards. It was a lovely moment and brought home why nearly 300 bishops are gathered in Rome talking about a new evangelisation: so that Jesus Christ can be at the centre of our parish communities and of our families in these new and challenging times.


Thursday 18th October

This is the day I was dreading. We met in language groups to begin the process of drafting propositions. But first there was a discussion on Cardinal Wuerl’s report of yesterday. It was my job to take notes of this so that I could give a report tomorrow to the plenary session. So the discussion went on during both working sessions. I had to summarise it into a 10 minute address. That would be okay, but I also needed to prepare a text and summary text in advance. I was sorry I had to decline an invitation to dinner at the Irish College that evening to get it done. I got to bed at midnight.


Friday 19th October

I handed in my texts at 8am. The Pope arrived for the morning session. But he left at 10.30am. I had not yet been called. He always leaves before I get called to speak! Eventually I was called to speak. It went well enough. First hurdle over!

I made them all laugh when I said at the start of my report: "My mother looking down from heaven will be amazed to see her son here." Lots of the bishops came up to me later and said that was nice to mention my mother, and the Synod press officer told me journalists were asking about it.

In the afternoon session, we finalised our propositions – 26 of them – and we worked until 8.15pm when I signed them off in front of a Synod Official. I was so relieved, but sadly, I had to decline another invitation to dinner!

[You can read Archbishop Philip's address on the Year of Faith website.]


Saturday 20th October

At the morning session, the first draft of the "Message of the Synod to the People of God" was read. Along with the individual voices of the bishops being heard in plenary sessions in the Synod Hall, and the language groups discussions to prepare the Propositions, the preparation of the Message is a third strand of the Synod’s work.

[You can read the final Message here.]

The language group secretaries had to work the graveyard shift on Saturday afternoon-evening sifting through the many propositions which had been submitted. I was joined by Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, Archbishop Edward Kurtz of Louisville (Kentucky, USA) and Bishop Kieran O’Reilly of Killaloe (Ireland), and three expert advisors from China, Africa and England, to sift through the 92 propositions which came from the 4 English language groups.

The propositions covered every aspect of the new evangelisation from a definition of new evangelisation to its implications for the liturgy, for parishes, for ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue, for justice and peace, for the stewardship of creation, for seminary formation, for new movements, for the Sacraments, for the Word of God – it was all there! Our job was to rank them, choose them, fuse them and bin them. We worked well together and had a good few laughs in the process. We managed to cut down 92 propositions to around 50. The people upstairs were pleased. We did a straight 4-hour shift and got finished at 8pm. But by then I had missed another invitation to dinner! The things I do for the Church..!

Sunday 21st October

You would think we would get Sunday off in the Vatican. No chance! At least not for us language group secretaries, all part of the team headed up by Cardinal Donald Wuerl (the General Reporter) and Archbishop of Montpellier (France) Pierre-Marie Carré (the Special Secretary). It was planned that we would work all day.

This was the last part of the work to formulate propositions. This time I was grouped with Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, Italy, and with Bishop Bernardo Miguel Bastres Florence of Punta Arenas, Chile. It was a nice coincidence that the Chilean bishop knew the brothers Fr James and Neil Sharpe from the Diocese of Paisley, my former diocese, who have worked for decades in the Chilean Diocese of Arica.

This time we had to deal with propositions in all the languages which had been grouped by theme rather than by language. It helped that we all could speak or understand Italian, French and Spanish, and Archbishop Forte knew German. We again had the help of two expert advisers from Italy and England. It was our job to unify the propositions by choosing, and fusing and discarding. This time, however, we could create a new proposition out of others, if we had to. It was surprising that, while we had a computer and printer at our disposal, it was sometimes easier and quicker just to use scissors and paste!

Well, we got on so well that we finished work at 12 noon today, work that was scheduled to go on this afternoon/evening and tomorrow morning. Those propositions that we ticked with a green pen will now go off to the translators who will translate them from whatever language(s) they appear in into Latin and English, and then into the other languages. They will be presented in a full plenary session of the Synod on Tuesday 23rd October, and immediately go back to the language groups for amendments. However, that's for next week.

I now have a day and a half off. And I have at last been able to accept an invitation. This evening I attended a dinner in honour of the Synod Fathers from Great Britain hosted by the British Ambassador to the Holy See. The Synod Fathers of Great Britain are: from the Bishops Conference of England & Wales, Archbishop Bernard Longley, Bishop Kieran Conry and Bishop Michael Campbell; and from the Bishops Conference of Scotland, yours truly.

The dinner was a most enjoyable event and a very gracious gesture on the part of the Ambassador, and expressed the very good mutual relations which exist between the British Government and the Holy See, mutual relations that can only help the cause of peace and justice around the world, and of religious liberty at home.

In the taxi home, I had to explain to the Roman taxi driver and to Archbishop Souraphiel of Addis Ababa why Rangers were now in the Third Division. That was a challenge… but I rose to it with some soaring Italian rhetoric!

Sunday 14th October

There was no Papal Mass for the Synod Fathers today. I came down as usual for the 7.00am concelebration in the residence. Usually a Cardinal presides, but there was no Cardinal present. As I started to vest, the Director approached me and said: "You speak Italian, don’t you." "Yes," I said, hesitantly, wondering why he was asking, since the Mass was in Latin. "Well," he said, "I asked another bishop to preside, but he was a bit 'afraid'. So will you do it?" "Okay," I said, reluctantly, thinking more of the Latin than anything. But then he said, "Since it's Sunday, just give a wee homily in Italian after the Gospel." I thought, a homily in Italian for other bishops and priests, off the cuff – a bit scary! I took a deep breath, asked for the help of the Holy Spirit, and off I went. It was a great privilege to preside at the Sunday Mass and to offer to my brother-bishops from all over the world Christ's word of love and encouragement for our task of evangelisation.


Monday 15th October
This was a regular working day with two major sessions, 9.00am-12.30pm and 4.30-7.30pm. Again, over the day we heard about 50 bishops give their views and experiences on the subject of the new evangelisation. The sense of expectation that we must address to the whole Church a new word about evangelisation was growing with every bishop’s voice.

 I was out again on the town later that day. (It’s not like this every day - honest!). I had dinner in the evening with Cardinal George Pell and my friend from student days in Rome, Archbishop James Harvey, the American archbishop and Vatican diplomat who heads up the Pope’s Prefecture which deals with the huge area of private, semi-private and public audiences with the Holy Father. If you go to a Public Audience, Jim is the bishop who is always at the Pope’s right hand side. Anyway, it was good and helpful to meet Cardinal Pell since he has agreed to be our keynote speaker at the Year of Faith Conference on Saturday 1st December in the City Chambers, Glasgow.

[Since this blog post it was announced that Archbishop Harvey will be created a Cardinal next month, and start a new job at the basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls – pray for him!]


Tuesday 16th October

Today was the day that we heard also from representatives of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities. It was good to hear them express their appreciation that a Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church should be discussing the theme of evangelisation in the modern world and should have invited them to be part of it. I am sure that the Synod will affirm the importance of ecumenism for evangelisation because the unity of Christians bears upon the credibility of the message. If Christians cannot give common witness to Christ, why should others bother?

As for the football, what can I say? Poor Scotland! 0-2 to Belgium. The World Cup finals in Brazil look a distant prospect now... The hugely impressive Archbishop André Leonard of Brussels, who has a really dry Gallic sense of humour, commiserated with me.

While Archbishop Philip is in Rome at the Synod of Bishops (see earlier post, below) he's promised to keep us up to date with all the latest news.

Ever wondered what it's like to be a synod father?  Read on!

Saturday 6th October

After a good journey, I booked into the Domus Sanctae Marthae ["St. Martha's House", a special residence for bishops] in the Vatican where I had been assigned a room. They’re good rooms, and some kind person left a fridge and TV (just the basic channels) in mine - I don’t think these are standard issue. I unpacked and got my laptop connected to the broadband at 7.5 euros a day. But it’s worth it - don’t know what I’d do without email and internet. No wifi in the building. Free wifi should be elevated to human right status! I skipped the evening meal, checked my emails, the news and the sports reports, and went to bed early because I was shattered.

Sunday 7th October

Had a walk round the Vatican gardens after breakfast. What a privilege! Then I concelebrated at Mass at St. Peter’s (outside) for the Opening of the Synod – Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Religious and Lay Faithful from everywhere, and, of course Pope Benedict XVI himself – an encouraging snapshot of the Catholicity of the Synod and of the Church. Pity it won’t get much cover at home.

I went to the Scots College for lunch – my first time as Archbishop of Glasgow. The Rector and community were very gracious and welcoming, and presented me with a gift of some altar linen for my new oratory. As a former student, post-graduate and Rector, coming back to the Scots College is always a bit like coming home.

Because I had eaten so well earlier in the day, I skipped the evening meal in the residence and spent my time reading the papers for the first working day. I also sacrificed Barcelona v Real Madrid and Inter v Milan. Not to worry, Celtic won earlier in the day, which is the most important score for me!

Monday 8th October

The work started this morning in the presence of the Holy Father, who looked relaxed at close quarters among the cardinals and bishops. He gave an inspiring 25-minute reflection of some theological and spiritual depth on the meaning of “gospel” and “confession of faith” without a single note or prompt. His voice was still throaty but his mind crystal clear. The bishops were like excited school kids on the first day of term and there was a “buzz about the place”.

However, the first two set-piece addresses were long, in Latin, and so the coffee break was welcome... No one complained when, at the end of the second long address, the Secretary General let us out an hour early. It was hot in the hall and everyone was feeling it. He told us to be back at 4.30pm for the early evening session. There was applause though and a laugh when the Pope inadvertently said he would see us later at 5.00pm! No one corrected him, but I think we’ve to be back for 4.30pm.

The afternoon session included more free interventions from the floor. A number of bishops from Africa and the Middle East commented on sometimes tense and complicated relations with Islam, and a bishop from Iraq described how his community had evangelised, witnessing to Christ with their lives as they were massacred in a church in Baghdad.

Tuesday 9th October

In the Residence where I am staying for the Synod, there is a Concelebrated Mass at 7.00am. All the bishops and priests staying here from across the world can concelebrate. It’s in Latin (ordinary form!) with readings in the vernacular languages of Europe, with sung parts of the Mass, and a couple of hymns (with well-known melodies and verses in different languages).

I handed in my text to the Synod Secretariat today. I should be called to deliver it tomorrow or Thursday.

Wednesday 10th October

We had our first language group meeting. There are 19 bishops in my group: 5 from Africa; 8 from Asia; 1 from the USA; I from the Bahamas (Nassau - sounds wonderful! Archbishop Patrick Pinder who seems like a nice guy); 1 from the UK (me!); 2 from Oceania; and a stray from Guatemala! I found myself elected General Secretary of the Group which means I have to write up the reports, present them in plenary, and get involved with the drafting of the propositions. No free time for me, I’m afraid!

We had a visit from the Archbishop of Canterbury this evening, invited by the Pope who gave an address on the contemplative dimension of Christian faith.  He’s clearly an erudite man. He retires soon and I think that’s why he’s visiting the Pope one last time.

Thursday 11th October

Mass in St. Peter’s Square for the start of the Year of Faith, for the 50th Anniversary of the start of Vatican II, and for the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It was another splendid Vatican liturgical occasion, which they do almost effortlessly. The bishop-concelebrants walked the same processional route that the Council Fathers took on 11th October 1962.

Another Scots connection was the presence of composer James McMillan who received a gift from the Pope on behalf of the artists of the world, another symbolic action which recalled the various messages to the various categories of people given by Pope Paul VI at the end of Vatican II on 8th December 1965.

Friday 12th October

I gave my 5-minute address in the Synod Hall today. I was so nervous, but it seemed to go quite well. Then we all had lunch with the Pope in the Audience Hall. There must have been about 350 of us. Being Friday, there was no meat, but the food was still really excellent. At the end the Pope declared that the afternoon session would begin at 5.45pm rather than 4.30pm, which was met with applause!

Saturday 13th October

The morning session opened with a real wee human touch. The General Secretary, apparently at the instigation of some Latin American bishops, announced the results of some international football matches played the day before involving national teams from those countries. The Pope took it all in good part, but I was glad Scotland’s defeat to Wales was not mentioned. How embarrassing that would have been!

This evening there was the beginning of some passionate exchanges about the order of the Sacraments for baptised children and especially about the age of confirmation. I was going to speak on this but we ran out of time and I wasn’t called. Thank goodness tomorrow’s Sunday and we get a wee rest!

The Year of Faith begins today, opened by the Holy Father with a special Mass in St. Peter's Square.  It's also exactly 50 years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council by Pope John XXIII, and 20 years since the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

When the Second Vatican Council ended on 8th December 1965, the then Pope Paul VI gave a special message to young people from the Council.  Today Pope Benedict presented young people with that very same text, which remains something for us to discover in the present day.  It's worth reading as we get underway!

Lastly, it is to you, young men and women of the world, that the council wishes to address its final message. For it is you who are to receive the torch from the hands of your elders and to live in the world at the period of the most gigantic transformations ever realised in its history. It is you who, receiving the best of the example of the teaching of your parents and your teachers, are to form the society of tomorrow. You will either save yourselves or you will perish with it.

For four years the Church has been working to rejuvenate her image in order to respond the better to the design of her Founder, the great Living One, the Christ who is eternally young. At the term of this imposing re-examination of life, she now turns to you. It is for you, youth, especially for you that the Church now comes through her council to enkindle your light, the light which illuminates the future, your future. The Church is anxious that this society that you are going to build up should respect the dignity, the liberty and the rights of individuals. These individuals are you. The Church is particularly anxious that this society should allow free expansion to her treasure ever ancient and ever new, namely faith, and that your souls may be able to bask freely in its helpful light. She has confidence that you will find such strength and such joy that you will not be tempted, as were some of your elders, to yield to the seductions of egoistic or hedonistic philosophies or to those of despair and annihilation, and that in the face of atheism, a phenomenon of lassitude and old age, you will know how to affirm your faith in life and in what gives meaning to life, that is to say, the certitude of the existence of a just and good God.

It is in the name of this God and of His Son, Jesus, that we exhort you to open your hearts to the dimensions of the world, to heed the appeal of your brothers, to place your youthful energies at their service. Fight against all egoism. Refuse to give free course to the instincts of violence and hatred which beget wars and all their train of miseries. Be generous, pure, respectful and sincere, and build in enthusiasm a better world than your elders had.

The Church looks to you with confidence and with love. Rich with a long past ever living in her, and marching on toward human perfection in time and the ultimate destinies of history and of life, the Church is the real youth of the world. She possesses what constitutes the strength and the charm of youth, that is to say the ability to rejoice with what is beginning, to give oneself unreservedly, to renew one's self and to set out again for new conquests. Look upon the Church and you will find in her the face of Christ, the genuine, humble and wise Hero, the prophet of truth and love, the companion and friend of youth. It is in the name of Christ that we salute you, that we exhort and bless you.

Pope Paul VI

Archbishop Philip was present yesterday at the opening Mass for the Synod of Bishops and will be in Rome for the opening of the Year of Faith on Thursday of this week.

The work of the synod gets underway today, and lasts for three weeks.  Archbishop Philip was chosen by the Bishops' Conference of Scotland to be our country's participant at the event.  He's called a "synod father".

Here's a short video outlining the numbers of this synod, courtesy of Rome Reports:

A synod is literally an "assembly" or "gathering".  The assemblies usually take place every three years to discuss a particular topic, although in fact the preparation starts as soon as the last synod meeting is finished - it's a bit like painting the Forth Bridge!*

To begin the process, bishops and people from around the world are consulted on a subject (such as the Word of God, or the Eucharist).  Their comments are collected and circulated to everyone as a guideline for future discussion.  From this a working document - "instrumentum laboris" - is published, and that's what the synod fathers plough through during the meeting itself!  When the work of the synod fathers is done, the Pope takes their propositions and produces a final document called an "Exhortation" which is published some time later and is for everyone.

A synod is assisted by experts, who are often lay people, and witnessed by observers, such as those from other Christian denominations.  Fewer than one in ten of all the bishops worldwide are present, so it's important to get a representative group that can discuss a topic and make wise recommendations for the future.  With hundreds of people gathered together there is a strict limit on how long each participant - even bishops! - can speak at a time.  Sometimes the limit can be as short as 3 minutes, so everyone's got to stay alert and on the ball to get the work done.

* The last job of the bishops gathered at a synod assembly is to elect those who will carry on its work, and plan the next one!  That's why although the public meeting only happens occasionally, the "synod of bishops" is really a permanent organisation within the Church.

The full title of this synod assembly is "New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith".

We know that our Faith, once strong here and elsewhere in Europe and North America, is being challenged.  Whereas in the past missionaries went in great numbers from Europe to spread the Gospel, now we seem to struggle.  In his homily for the opening Mass of the synod, Pope Benedict reminds us that "the Church exists to evangelise" - to bring Good News - but notes that sometimes people do not practice the Faith they have received in baptism, and this affects our ability to share it with others.  The New Evangelisation, he says, is aimed at "those who, though baptised, have drifted away from the Church and live without reference to Christian life".

"The Synodal Assembly [which opens today] is dedicated to this New Evangelisation, to help these people encounter the Lord, Who alone fills existence with deep meaning and peace; and to favour the rediscovery of the faith, that source of grace which brings joy and hope to personal, family and social life."

Our Faith is not a theory, it is a person - Jesus Christ.  The synod of bishops is meeting now to discuss especially how we can all be renewed in this Faith and share it with others.  So the Year of Faith and the synod go hand-in-hand!

Pray for Archbishop Philip as he takes part in the synod.  It's a tough job, but an important one!  We're very blessed to have our own Archbishop present as one of the synod fathers.  Hopefully he'll be able to tell us all about it soon.

There are a number of diocesan and national events coming up for young people to mark the Year of Faith.

Firstly, XPO returns this Friday (5th) at Our Lady of Consolation with Adoration, music, and pizza (although not at the same time!).  Come along to meet other young adults from across the Archdiocese to discuss ideas for the coming year.  More info on the OLOC tab above.  If you've not been along before, why not make our monthly event for young adults your "new year's resolution" for the Year of Faith?

Secondly, the National Youth Event takes place at Gartmore House, near Stirling, from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th November.  This year's theme is "Rejoice in the Lord always" from Pope Benedict's World Youth Day letter.  We have a number of spaces for delegates from the Archdiocese aged 16-35.  The cost is £50 - for that you get to share great speakers, great liturgy, and great food with lots of lovely people!  We end with joining the Bishops' Conference Mass for the opening of the Year of Faith at Motherwell Cathedral on Sunday afternoon.  Get in touch with the Youth Pastoral Team as soon as possible for an application form.

Thirdly, and further in the distance, we're now taking initial bookings for WYD: Scotland's Rio which takes place at Stirling University from 25th - 28th July 2013.  This event is for young people aged 14-25 and includes a taste of the World Youth Day experience right here in Scotland!  There's more info on the WYD tab and you can get a form under the download tab (click "more") - send it in to us when you're done, or call if you've got any questions.

That's all for now - hope to see you at one, some, or all of these events so we can grow in faith together!

Our new Archbishop is on tour around the Archdiocese, celebrating Mass in each deanery over the next few weeks.

Go along to your nearest one and say hello! Mass begins at 7pm.

Tuesday 11 September – St. Thomas', Riddrie
Wednesday 12 September – Christ the King, Kings Park
Thursday 13 September – St. Matthew’s, Bishopbriggs
Monday 17 September – St. Philomena’s, Provanmill
Monday 24 September – St. Kessog’s, Balloch
Tuesday 25 September – St. Patrick’s, Anderston
Thursday 27 September – St. Mary’s, Duntocher

Use our Google map to find your way there: http://www.rcagyouth.org.uk/map-of-parishes.html