Welcome to the Diocese of Argyll & the Isles
Welcome Message from Bishop Brian McGee
Welcome Message from Bishop Brian McGee
Welcome to the website of the Diocese of Argyll & the Isles, and thank you for visiting. I hope you will enjoy exploring the contents of the site, learning about our Cathedral and parishes, our Led by the Spirit discernment process, our Celtic spiritual heritage and much more.
It is a large diocese, taking in much of the western part of the Scottish Highlands & Islands. It covers over 31 thousand square kilometres and has the most beautiful scenery in Scotland! We welcome many thousands of visitors here each year and we really do WELCOME them! Visitors to the diocese enrich our lives and our liturgies.
For those resident in the diocese I hope you will find this renewed website of interest. In these pages, alongside our Facebook page, I hope you will find the information and news you require to make you an ever more active participant in the life of prayer and service that we endeavour to foster together.
To all site visitors, either local to the diocese of from further afield, I would like to ask your help in giving financial support should you be in a position to do so. You'll find a link to our donation page here and if you happen to be a tax payer in the USA then we have a dedicated donation page where you can take advantage of tax deductions when giving to the diocese.
I travel the diocese a great deal and one of the most enjoyable parts of that is meeting and greeting people! Now I am delighted to do so virtually as well, through this welcome message.
Thank you for visiting and during this Holy Year in particular may you experience the joy and hope that both Pope Francis and myself wish for you.
+Brian
Latest News on
Congratulations to the eleven parishioners who were confirmed on Sunday in Holy Redeemer, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. The parish community is young and vibrant. How long it is since such a large number were confirmed in that part of the diocese is anyone’s guess! During my fortnight’s visitation I saw many other shoots of hope across the Hebrides. The Spirit is clearly at work and people are responding.
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Congratulations to the three young parishioners who were confirmed last night in St Mary’s, Benbecula. ... See MoreSee Less
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The Hebrides are especially beautiful during this warm and sunny spell. However, the natural tranquility has been routinely disturbed by military exercises: the sounds and flashes caused by the firing from both land missiles and warships. The weapons aim away from the islands into the sea but many parishioners have told me that they find the experience frightening, particularly when they think of the harm being inflicted upon people where powerful weapons are being fired today such as in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan. Pope Francis insisted that war is always a defeat while since his first address Pope Leo has asked us to embrace peace. The Popes didn’t invent these teachings; they are rooted in the Gospel. The statue of Our Lady of the Isles invites us to walk the alternative path of the Prince of Peace. I recognise that life is complex but as Christians our choices must be discerned in the light of the Gospel.
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Congratulations to the young people from South Uist who were confirmed this week. Pictured are the children from Bornish and Ardkeneth parishes. ... See MoreSee Less
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“I am deeply disappointed that our Parliament has taken the first step to permit the state to provide vulnerable people with the means to end their lives prematurely.
Many MSPs, however, expressed significant reservations about the terms of Liam McArthur's Bill.
I hope and pray that MSPs will take time to reflect very carefully on these concerns and reject the Bill before it is passed into law.”
Bishop John Keenan, on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland. ... See MoreSee Less
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I warmly welcome the First Minister's commitment to protecting the vulnerable from the existential threat of assisted suicide and upholding the dignity of life by deciding to vote against Liam McArthur's Bill and I hope that fellow parliamentarians will follow his lead.
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Congratulations to the young people of Barra who were confirmed today. ... See MoreSee Less
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I could see nothing from the top of Heaval this morning but the mist was lighter at the statue of Our Lady. May is the month of the Rosary and on my climb I prayed for Pope Leo, the children being confirmed and for all our diocese. Throughout May let us be ‘pilgrims of hope’ who meditate on Christ’s life and our redemption by daily praying the Rosary.
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10 Popes and counting!👏I had a lovely day on the Islands of Barra and Vatersay celebrating Mass, visiting the schools, housebound and St Brendan’s Home. I enjoyed my visit to Peigi Ellie Haggarty, Barra’s oldest resident who is nearing her 103rd birthday. Peigi’s faith is strong and she rejoices at the election of our new Pope, the tenth she has known! Also present were her daughters and Canon John Paul. I look forward to the Confirmations tomorrow.
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