The funeral Mass for Fr John Callaghan took place yesterday (Tue 25 February) at Our Lady & St Ninian's in Bannockburn following his passing on 6 February.
John was born in Kilsyth on 18 November 1938 to William & Alice Callaghan (nee Cox), the younger brother of Patsy and Anna.
At an early age he wanted to be a priest and left home young to go to the junior seminary at Blairs and then to the Royal Scots College in Spain.
He was one of eight young men ordained to the priesthood on 29 April 1962 by Bishop Black (Paisley Diocese) at the college in Valladolid.
The men who trained there for the priesthood developed a love of the Spanish language and culture, and it created an enduring bond of brotherly affection.
John is the last of the Valladolid class of 1962 to go to God.
Missionary Priest
John was appointed to St Patrick’s in Edinburgh and remained there for five years before a move to St Margaret’s in Raploch, Stirling (1967-1969).
He volunteered to serve in the Archdiocese’s missionary outreach in the Diocese of Bauchi, specifically in Biliri and Gombe, from 1971 to 1975.
During his time there, he looked after 15 mission stations, one school and around 1,200 parishioners.
Fr John organised a water-drilling programme and this good work resulted in several wells being established in the region.
He recalled living in a mud-roofed bungalow and using an old Landrover to get around.
He would see the other missionary priests around once a week and many of his nights were spent reading, one of his favourite pastimes.
At one point he contracted Malaria and Hepatitis and spent an uncomfortable fortnight in hospital.
Despite the hardships of life in Africa, he said: “It’s been very rewarding and I am glad I took the job on.”
Scotland
On his return home he enjoyed spending time with his family, and on his day off he would join his sister Patsy in visiting their dad who lived with his other sister Anna and her family in Kilsyth.
Being back in Scotland also gave him time to play golf, which he did often with parishioners and friends.
One of his favourite memories was when he drove from Scotland to Lisbon in the summer of 1967 to watch Celtic win the European Cup against Inter Milan.
He had only recently passed his driving test and was joined by two fellow priests.
The day of the final itself was the Feast of Corpus Christi and before attending the match the priests stopped in a village to celebrate Mass.
Fr John also served at the following parishes:
- Our Lady & St Ninian, Bannockburn (1975-1979)
- Our Lady & St Andrew, Galashiels (1979-1981)
- St Margaret’s, South Queensferry (1981-1987)
- Our Lady & St Ninian, Bannockburn (1987-1992)
Retirement
Fr John made the difficult decision to retire from active ministry in 1992 due to ill health and he settled in Bannockburn.
He loved to travel and enjoyed trips to places including Lourdes, Canada, Germany and Australia, visiting his nephew.
He moved into Oakshott House Care Home in Stirling in 2023. Some of the staff there are Nigerian and he enjoyed reminiscing about his time in Africa.
His love for Celtic remained; a friend would bring him matchday programmes for him to read and he has his name engraved on a brick on the stadiums wall.
Fr John died on the night of Thursday 6 February at Forth Valley Royal after a short illness. He was 86.
His Requiem Mass took place at Our Lady & St Ninian's.
At the Mass, Archbishop Cushley said: “I recall John as I knew him, older and slower but still a cheerful, willing, brave and loyal servant of the Gospel after all those years.
“I thank the Lord for John’s service of our people here and in Africa; and I add my thanks to those of the people of Biliri and Goma and Edinburgh and Gala and Stirling, for all the good that John brought to his time on earth with us. And I pray with them that the Lord will gather John into paradise with him today.”
His family described him as “a kind-hearted man who was loved by everyone he met”.
May he rest in peace.