Valentine's Retreat

This mini-retreat is an ideal way for couples to spend time together in quiet reflection and prayer, in thanksgiving to God for each other and all the positive things that spring from your relationship.

Register here.

We’ll provide some inspiring stories and practical advice from our own background and what we’ve learned over the years through delivering catechesis about and for the family and from working with families.

We hope it will help you look afresh in appreciation of each other ahead of Valentine’s Day in the relaxed and friendly environment of St Kentigern’s Parish in Edinburgh. We look forward to welcoming you.

- Stephen & Martha Milne

*Please note, there will be a crèche available for children of primary school age and older.

About Stephen and Martha Milne

Stephen and Martha were married in 1989 in Baltimore, USA. They have six grown up children, four grandchildren and another on the way. They currently reside in Dalmally, Argyll and Bute, recently joining the Craig Lodge Family House of Prayer Community.

Stephen is a retired English teacher and taught in schools in Kent, London and Lincolnshire. He taught at the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham for several years as an Associate Lecturer on the MA for Catholic Pastoral Studies programme, running a course on Marriage and Family in the teaching of the Church. He has a BA (Hons) in Developmental Psychology University of Sussex, an MA in English Literature and Language from King’s College London, and a PhD from the University of Nottingham.

Martha spent nine years as a primary school teacher at The Lamb of God Community School in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the Director of the Machine Quilter Company Ltd and currently runs social media for the Juki Sewing Machine Corporation Europe.

The couple have been involved in helping organise and run family retreats at Craig Lodge Family House of Prayer Community in the last year.

She has a B.S. in Speech and Language Pathology M.Ed Literacy (Dyslexia), Catechesis Certificate from Maryvale Institute

The Valentine's Retreat is a free event organised by the Marriage & Families Commission of the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh. It takes place at St Kentigern's Church, 26-28 Parkgrove Ave, Edinburgh EH4 7QR.  The registration address is bit.ly/valretreat. The event includes talks, time for coples to talk, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Guided prayer with readings and prayers relevant to the vocation of marriage. Doors open from 1:30pm. Questions? Contact matthew.meade@staned.org.uk

GALLERY: Highlights from across the year

We take a look back at 2023 with a selection of photo highlights. Have a good New Year when it comes!

January: On New Year's Day (Feast of Mary, the Holy Mother of God) Archbishop Cushley celebrated Mass at the home of the Missionaries of Charity in Hopetoun Crescent, Edinburgh. From left: Sr Leajose, Archbishop Leo, Sr Gracie, Sr Mercy & Sr Premila.

January: A joy-filled afternoon at the graduation ceremony for the Diploma in Catechetics. Course leader Sr Anna Marie McGuan receives a  hug from a graduate.

February: Archbishop Cushley distributes ashes as part of an Ash Wednesday service for MSPs and staff at the Scottish Parliament.

February: Praying for peace in Ukraine at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh. Archbishop Cushley said: "This is about coming to the house of God, asking him to grant us a peace that we are unable it seems to give ourselves, to do that with humility."

March: We welcomed our international priests to The Gillis Centre in Edinburgh today. It was a chance to catch-up with our Curia team, share information, enjoy lunch and pray together. We thank them and all clergy in the Archdiocese for their dedication and service.

March: A joyful celebration at St John Ogilvie's RC Church in Wester Hailes as Archbishop Cushley joined Fr Anthony Quinlan OMI, fellow clergy and parishioners to celebrate the parish feast day and Golden Jubilee (50 years)!

April: Fr Aidan Cannon (left of Archbishop) marked his 50th anniversary of priestly ordination and was joined by clergy, family and friends at St Mary & St David in Hawick.

April: The Holy Chrism Mass at St Mary's Cathedral. Archbishop Cushley blessed the holy oils that will be used in sacraments in parishes across the Archdiocese and many clergy gathered to renew their priestly promises.

April: People gathered in Edinburgh for the annual Pro-Life Chain in Lothian Road. It's a peaceful, public act of witness for the unborn. Prior to the event Archbishop Cushley led the Rosary at Sacred Heart Church to pray for unborn children, their mothers and all pro-life intentions.

May: St Margaret was celebrated in Dunfermline by senior political figures from Hungary. A gift was presented to the church from the community of her birthplace of Mecseknádasd. Pictured is Árpád János Potápi, State Secretary for Hungarian communities abroad (centre) with Katalin Szili, Chief Adviser to the Hungarian Prime Minister and Fr Syriac Palakudiyil.

May: Archbishop Cushley continued visiting parishes across the Archdiocese for Confirmations, including St Cuthbert's Church in Slateford. Clergy pictured from left: Fr Tony Quinlan OMI, Fr Shinto Karimattathil SSP, Fr Baji Puthiyaparambil SSP, Archbishop Leo Cushley and Fr Francis Ututo SMMM.

June: Paul Henderson (left) and Peter Shankland were ordained as Deaconsby Archbishop Leo Cushley at the Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on Wednesday 14 June 2023. They are expected to be ordained to the priesthood in 2024.

June: Married and engaged couples took part in our Celebration of Marriage Mass at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh.

June: Archbishop Cushley lays flowers at the Shrine of St Margaret at Dunfermline Abbey as part of the St Margaret's Pilgrimage.

June: Children praying at St Francis Xavier's in Falkirk as part of the annual Corpus Christi procession through the town centre.

July: Archbishop Cushley blessed a new atrium at St Theresa's Church in East Calder. The catechesis space is where young chidren can have a fun, hands-on experience of learning about prayer and liturgy from specially trained catechists.

July: People from across the Archdiocese had a lovely time on our annual pilgrimage to Lourdes. During the pilgrimage Archbishop Cushley congratulated Gary Rutherford for his 30 years as an altar server.

July: Canon Hugh White, who today celebrated the 60th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood at Mass in St Mary's, Bathgate. In his homily he said it had been a "privilege and joy to live by the gospel and preach the gospel".

August: Archbishop Cushley with Annalisa, Sofia, Olivia and Andre of St Albert's Chaplaincy (Edinburgh University) at the World Youth Day Ceilidh in Lisbon.

August: His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, had his first official visit to Scotland as the Pope’s ambassador to the Court of St James’s at the Festival Mass in St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh.

September: Douglas Robertson receives a hug from a fellow deacon after being ordained by Archbishop Cushley at St Michael's in Linlithgow.

September: Celia Sweeney is presented with a bouquet of flowers from Fr John McFadden OMI at St Mary's Star of the Sea in Leith. Her husband Michael Sweeney was posthumously awarded the Archdiocesan medal for 25 years' dedicated service at the altar. Pat Campanile also received the award on behalf of her late husband Douglas for his 70 years' dedicated service at the altar.

September: Pope Francis welcomed Archbishop Cushley and Fr Mark Cassidy, rector of the Pontifical Scots College, Rome to the Vatican for an informal meeting which included discussions on a new location for the Scots' College.

September: Altar servers from across the Archdiocese enjoyed a day of games, training and prayer at The Gillis Centre. Archbishop Cushley is pictured with Fr Martin Eckersley of St Francis Xavier's in Falkirk and servers. The certificates show they have become members of the Guild of St Cuthbert.

October: Students on our Diploma in Catechetics course attended a Day of Reflection at The Gillis Centre in Edinburgh.

October: Holy Mass was celebrated recently to mark the official opening of a new Catholic High School in Winchburgh, West Lothian. Sinclair Academy is named after Venerable Margaret Sinclair, who is revered for her life of holiness.

October: Lawrence Curran, Molly Wade and Cathy Regan of Our Lady & St Bridget's in West Calder received the Archdiocesan medal from Archbishop Cushley at Our Lady & St Bridget's in West Calder. The medal was awarded for their long service and dedication to the Parish in various roles over many years. From left: Lawrence Curran, Molly Wade, Archbishop Cushley, Cathy Regan and Fr Marcin Motyka.

November: Richard Steinbach received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal. The award is given to those who have shown distinguished service to the Church and the papacy and is the highest medal that the Pope can award to a layperson. He was awarded the medal for his dedication to the Society of St Vincent de Paul over the years, in which he served as President for the Archdiocese.

November: A fun and faith-filled day at our youth event at The Gillis Centre in Edinburgh which helped children prepare for Christmas.

Archbishop Cushley and The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland released a joint Christmas message. The collaboration between Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton and the Archbishop is a symbol of Christian unity in a deeply troubled world. Read the message here.

WATCH: Happy Christmas to our schools!

Our schools have been preparing for Christmas with nativity plays, carol singing, prayers and foodbank donations.
Watch our video as pupils get into the Christmas spirit! Thanks to the choir of St Modan's in Stirling for providing the soundtrack.

Mass for Feast of The Holy Innocents

Join Archbishop Cushley, priests and people of the Archdiocese to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents at midday on Thursday 28 December.

He will celebrate Mass at St Margaret's Chapel in the Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB.

Refreshments will be served afterwards in the Islay room of the Gillis Centre.

Parking: Gillis parking is available but limited. Come early to secure a space. Metered parking is available outside Gillis on Strathearn Road, Whitehouse Loan and Thirlestane Road

Bus: Edinburgh's Number 5 bus stops directly outside the Gillis Centre.

Driving: Postcode for the Gillis Centre is EH9 1BB.

GALLERY: Faith and fun at our youth day!

Children enjoyed a fun and faith-filled day at our youth event at The Gillis Centre in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Thanks to all the children and parents who came along and to Fr Martin Eckersley, Fr Robert Taylor, Fr Jamie McMorrin, Sr Miriam Fidelis, Sr Paul Miriam and Archbishop Cushley for joining the fun!

Bishops meet MPs at Westminster

Scotland's Catholic Bishops joined the Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland on a joint pilgrimage to Westminster on Wednesday.

Archbishop Cushley said: "This was wonderful opportunity to meet the UK Government and our Westminster MPs to discuss matters that are important to Christians and people of Faith in Scotland, but in a UK-wide context.

"I'm especially pleased to do this in the company of Rt Rev Sally Foster Fulton and our friends from the Church of Scotland, particularly in light of the Declaration of Friendship that we signed with them last year."

Archbishop Bill Nolan (Glasgow), Bishop John Keenan (Paisley) and Joseph Toal (Motherwell) also attended.

The Church leaders met Scottish MPs, attended Prime Minister’s Questions and a reception in the House of Lords, which focused on International Aid to South Sudan.

Mass was celebrated at the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft at the Palace of Westminster.

Anthony Horan, Director of the Scottish Catholic Parliamentary Office, said: “This visit presents a fantastic opportunity for the bishops of Scotland to meet MPs representing Scottish constituencies, to strengthen relationships and discuss important issues.

"I am delighted that the bishops will be joined by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for much of Wednesday’s programme and that they will lead the celebration of Mass in the beautiful chapel of St Mary-Undercroft.”

Rt Foster-Fulton, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: "I am keenly aware that last week marked one year since the signing of the Saint Margaret Declaration between the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church, a landmark in the history of ecumenical relations in this country.

"The Church is committed to fostering unity, be that between faiths, denominations, or political parties, as part of our duty as Christians spreading the message of love.

"To effect positive change it is essential that leaders from diverse backgrounds come together for the common good."

An island-hopping chaplain

Fr Kevin Dow, a priest of our Archdiocese, is currently serving as Commissioned Chaplain in the Army. He recently paid a pastoral visit to troops based in the Falkland Islands and sent us this report...

Anyone who has made the journey to the Falkland Islands knows that it is not a simple hop, skip and a jump away.

It involves 17 hours' flying with a two hour stop-over in the Ascension Islands (basically two days out the diary each way!).

A full schedule had been put together including a briefing and tour on the soldiers' role as the Falkland Islands Roulement Infantry Company (FIRIC).

Day 1

I joined Padre Al Nicoll, the deputy Chaplain in Chief of the RAF who is equal in rank to a 1 star General and is also a Baptist Minister whose last church was in Anstruther, along with Padre Neil Galloway RAF, a Catholic Permanent Deacon who originally hails from Dundee, on a pastoral visit to HMS Medway.

Fr Kevin, second from right, aboard the HMS Medway.

It was my first time onboard one of His Majesty’s Ships and all stops were pulled out for the visit (the joys of being with a 1 star General!)

We were given a tour of the ship and a chance to meet with the crew to get a feel for how life in the Royal Navy is compared to the Army and RAF.

As part of the FIRIC, members of my unit had spent some time on board the vessel protecting the Island communities and had a great experience trying out new military tactics and so this gave me an opportunity to thank them for looking after my people.

Day 2

I got to jump on board a helicopter and flew across the Islands to Johnson’s Harbour.

We visited one of the foot patrols that the Roulement Infantry Company were providing, fulfilling a childhood dream and bringing a grin from ear to ear!

P-P-Pick up a Padre: Fr Kevin in The Falklands and some native penguins.

There may or may not have been a few thousand penguins seen during this part of the visit, with a walk along the shore to Volunteer Point to meet the rest of the foot patrol.

Plenty of photos were taken of King Penguins, Gentoo Penguins and Magellanic Penguins, along with a seal who thought that the senior officer present was a giant penguin and was looking to eat him!

Day 3

The third day of the visit was to Onion Ranges, located in 'No Man’s Land' to watch live firing section attacks.

Experiencing live firing section attacks. 

A long drive in a rickety Landrover - held together with tape and socks - saw me adorned in full body armour.

I observed infantrymen in their element – who knew grenades made such a loud bang!

Fr Kevin leads a Service of Remembrance for troops.

A short Service of Remembrance was held under the freshly restored Cap Badge, for those who had died during and following the Falkland’s conflict.

At the end of the official visit, the extreme South Atlantic weather decided that things were not to go smoothly on the return trip.

That meant a few extra days on the island, which gave me the opportunity to lose a few pennies at the Officers' Mess race night, and plenty of time for more pastoral conversations with my soldiers and prayer in the chapel dedicated to a son of our Archdiocese, St Cuthbert.

Please remember Service Personnel in your prayers, particularly as we approach Remembrance Day on 11 November, and pray for those who minister to them wherever they may be called to serve.

Diploma in Catechetics: Register now

The Diploma in Catechetics is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the Catholic faith in 2024.

Get ready to explore the richness and depth of the Catholic spiritual tradition with course leader Sr Miriam Ruth Ryan RSM.

What students say

Here is feedback from some of our current 2023 students:

Incredibly informative. I have developed a much greater understanding of sacred scripture and liturgy, which has enhanced my faith and prayer life. Thank you! - Jimmy Adamson, Coaltown of Wemyss

This course has been a joyous learning experience about my Catholic Faith. - Hazel Kay, Kingussie

The Diploma has deepened my knowledge and has made His Holy presence alive and real. I wish this course was mandatory for all Catholics. - Gretta Bourke, Ireland

Read further testimonies from former students here.

Course leader

Sr Miriam Ruth Ryan is a Religious Sister of Mercy, of Alma, Michigan. She is based at St Margaret's Convent in Ravelston, Edinburgh. She is the Catechetics Advisor for the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh. She is joined by a selection of clergy and lay people who will deliver the course each week

FAQs

How much doe the course cost? The cost is £200. However, register now for a 20% discount (pay £160). If cost is preventing you from registering, don't worry! Contact Sr Miriam Ruth for a confidential chat - we want everyone to have access to the course. Bursaries available. srmiriam.ruth@staned.org.uk 

Do I have to sit an exam? No. Each module concludes with a one-to-one session with one of the course leaders. In the meeting, you’ll have a chance to talk about what you’ve learnt and ask any questions that weren’t answered in the lecture.

Do I need to buy course material? No. We do recommend you have a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is available free online.

Do I need to be Catholic to take part? No, all are welcome to explore the Catholic faith in this course.

Is the course difficult? Like any course, some elements will be challenging. That's why we have gathered a range of speakers who are experienced in simplifying difficult concepts in an engaging way. Plus, each session has a Q&A section where you can ask the speaker to clarify any concepts.

Can I take part if I'm not in the Archdiocese? Everyone is welcome to take part regardless of where you are based.

What if I miss a session? No problem, each session is recorded and available online the following day allowing you to catch up.

How do I log in to sessions? The course leader Sr Miriam Ruth will send you a link by email each week that you simply click to enter the session.

I've never used Zoom! Don't worry, we can help set you up. It's a simple process.

How do I register? Register on Eventbrite here.

I have more questions! Please get in touch for a chat. Email srmiriam.ruth@staned.org.uk 

 

Archdiocesan Youth Day!

A day of faith and fun for p4-7s on Saturday 25 November.

Join us as we unpack Jesus the King of the Universe and explore how we can prepare to meet our King this Christmas.

Games, talks, sweets, confessions, Mass and more! 10:30am to 3:30pm at the Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh. Speak to your parish priest to register.

Here is the consent form for parents (Word document) to give to the parish priest.

Question? Contact you parish priest or email Fr Martin Eckersley at frmartin.eckersley@staned.org.uk  

WATCH: Professor Biello leads Clergy Formation Day

Professor Stephany Biello was the speaker at our Clergy Formation Day at Gillis on Tuesday.

The day was titled, Breaking the Chains of Anxiety by Embracing the Power of Connection and saw clergy from across the Archdiocese attend.

She said: "We were trying to give priests practical tools to deal with anxiety in their own lives but then also in the lives of people who are in their parish community.

"So this is the perfect event to be talking about something like this, because clergy formation days allow priests time to come together, have a meal together and have some fraternity."

Stephany Biello is Professor of Neuroscience and Biopsychology and Dean of Learning and Teaching at Glasgow University.