CONFERENCE: St Dominic & His Preachers of Grace

People from across Scotland will get the chance to hear first hand about the Dominican way of Life at a conference in Edinburgh this weekend.

Saint Dominic and his Preachers of Grace takes place on 23-24 June and offers participants an opportunity to explore what lies at the heart of being a Dominican.

Archbishop Cushley will celebrate Mass with the Dominicans at St Mary's Cathedral on Saturday at midday. Fr Timothy Radcliff OP will preach

Fr Dermot Morrin OP, of St Albert's Chaplaincy in Edinburgh, said: “I have often noticed that many of the people to whom we preach don’t know much more about us than hearing the sermon.  They know very little about our way of life and the scope of our various ministries.

I hope that all those who come will gain a deeper sense of the grace and joy the call to follow St Dominic brings.

"I thought an afternoon seminar might help but my idea has caught on and now it is a fully-fledged conference with about twenty Dominican friars, sisters and laity speaking."

He added "I am looking forward to welcoming those who know us already and those who would like to get to know us.

"I hope that all those who come will gain a deeper sense of the grace and joy the call to follow St Dominic brings.”

Speakers include Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP, Fr Richard Finn OP, and  Fr Fergus Kerr OP (who is based in our Archdiocese) as well as many other Friars, Sisters and Lay Dominicans.

Full details of events and accommodation is at https://scotland.op.org/preachersofgrace/

The Dominicans will explain all about themselves by giving an account of what they have done, what they are doing currently and what they could do in the future.

In our Archdiocese the Dominicans are based at St Albert's Chaplaincy at the University of Edinburgh.

St Dominic and His Preachers of Grace - programme

Friday 23rd June

6pm  Welcome and Introduction   Dermot Morrin OP, local Superior,  and Martin Ganeri OP, Provincial.  Assembly Hall

6.50pm Leave the Assembly Hall  Use the Castlehill door to go to St Columba by the Castle

7pm to 9pm Dinner     St Columba by the Castle

 

Saturday 24th June

9am to 9.30am tea, & coffees   Rainy Hall.  

9.30am  – 10.30am “The Several ~Histories of the Dominicans in Scotland” – Richard Finn OP Assembly Hall 

10.30am – 11.20am “The Province in my Time” Fergus Kerr OP  (video shown in Assembly Hall)

11.25am Conference Photo  Front Quad of New College

Walk from New College to the Cathedral 

12 Noon  Mass  St Mary’s RC Cathedral, celebrated by Archbishop Cushley with Timothy Radcliffe OP preaching.   

1pm Leave Cathedral and walk to New College for lunch

1.20pm – 2.15pm  Sandwich lunch   Rainy Hall. 

2.15pm  -3.45pm “What we now do”   Presentations on the various ministries of Dominican Friars, Sisters and Laity.  Assembly Hall

3.45pm  – 4pm coffee, tea Rainy Hall

4pm to 5pm “Preaching and the Imagination”  Timothy Radcliffe OP Assembly Hall 

5pm  – 5.35pm  “The Young Respond”   2 young Friars, 2 young Sisters and 4 young Lay Dominicans respond  Assembly Hall

5.35pm – 5.45pm Closing Remarks and Many Thanks. Assembly Hall 

5.45pm - 6pm  Vespers   Assembly Hall

6pm - Depart

Find out more about St Albert's Chaplaincy here.

Dominicans Scotland Conference

This conference, titled Saint Dominic and his Preachers of Grace, offers participants an opportunity to explore what lies at the heart of being a Dominican.

Full details of events and accommodation is at https://scotland.op.org/preachersofgrace/

The Dominicans will explain all about themselves by giving an account of what they have done, what they are doing currently and what they could do in the future.

The conference takes place in different venues across Edinburgh city centre. Speakers include Fr Timothy Radcliffe, OP, Fr Richard Finn, OP, and our own Fr Fergus Kerr, OP as well as other Friars, Sisters and Lay Dominicans.  The conference will end with a joint response from a group, comprising young friars, Sisters and Lay Dominicans.

 

Dominicans Scotland Conference - Welcome Dinner

This conference, titled Saint Dominic and his Preachers of Grace, offers participants an opportunity to explore what lies at the heart of being a Dominican.

Full details of events and accommodation is at https://scotland.op.org/preachersofgrace/

The Dominicans will explain all about themselves by giving an account of what they have done, what they are doing currently and what they could do in the future.

The conference takes place in different venues across Edinburgh city centre. Speakers include Fr Timothy Radcliffe, OP, Fr Richard Finn, OP, and our own Fr Fergus Kerr, OP as well as other Friars, Sisters and Lay Dominicans.  The conference will end with a joint response from a group, comprising young friars, Sisters and Lay Dominicans.

 

Edinburgh chaplaincy says farewell to Fr O'Connor

The Archdiocese says farewell to Fr John O’Connor OP, parish priest and superior at St Albert's Chaplaincy at the University of Edinburgh.

He has been appointed Regent of Studies for the English Dominican Province, which will see him rejoin the Dominican Community at Blackfriars, Oxford. He leaves Edinburgh on Tuesday (28 July).

Archbishop Leo Cushley said: "We thank him warmly for all the good work he has done, especially among the young people of the city and all those who attend St Albert's chaplaincy parish in George Square."

 

Fr John O’Connor, from County Galway in Ireland, was ordained to the priesthood in 2004 and served as a curate in London, a parish priest in Glasgow, and was previously Prior at Blackfriars.

Since that time he has worked at the university chaplaincy in Edinburgh where he also completed a second doctorate in Moral Philosophy at the University. Since early 2019 he has been a lecturer in Moral Theology at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Glasgow.

Fr O'Connor said that he was "sorry to be leaving Edinburgh" but was pleased his move was delayed as it meant he will be able to take part in fellow Dominican Samuel Burke's ordination to the priesthood on Saturday at St Mary's Cathedral.

A spokesperson for the Dominicans in Oxford said: "We look forward to his rejoining Blackfriars at what will no doubt be a challenging time."

Find out more about the Dominicans at St Albert's Chaplaincy here.

VIDEO: The monk who may have witnessed Bannockburn

The remains of a 13th century friar who may have rubbed shoulders with William Wallace and Robert the Bruce have been reinterred in the shadow of Stirling Castle.

A Requiem Mass was held recently at St Mary's Church in Stirling, celebrated by Dominican brothers, including celebrant Fr John O'Connor OP and preacher Dermot Morrin OP, of St Albert's Chaplaincy at Edinburgh University.

The bones were revealed during an archaeological dig on Goosecroft Road, Stirling.

They belong to a member of the Dominican Friars, who founded a Stirling monastery around the year 1230, known as the Blackfriars.

Historical experts believe the remains could have a unique place in Scottish history, as the Dominican might have been alive during some of the key moments from Stirling and Scotland’s past, including the Battle of Stirling Bridge and the Battle of Bannockburn.

https://www.facebook.com/EdinburghRCdiocese/videos/212825806503018/

As well as the heroes of the Wars of Independence, the Goosecroft Friar could have bore witness to the actions of the fearsome Edward 1st, the Hammer of the Scots, and his successor Edward 2nd, who was defeated at Bannockburn by Robert the Bruce.

Given the high standing of the monastery in Scottish society at the time, it is even possible that he could have seen both English Kings, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, either within the walls of his priory or on the roaming countryside around his spiritual home.

Carbon dating

Carbon dating has pinpointed that the friar, who was probably aged between 20-35-years-old, would have been alive sometime between 1271 and 1320.

Stirling Council archaeologist Dr Murray Cook said: “The human remains from the excavation represent an individual who appears to have been formally buried within the precincts of the Dominican friary.

“The remains were found with a buckle which was positioned in front of the pelvic area and, as the Dominican Friars also wore a belt cincture with a buckle, this discovery suggests that he was a friar rather than a local individual.”

A Dominican Priory was founded in Stirling in 1233AD and the brothers of the Friary were strongly entwined with Stirling life, both preaching and tending to the needs of Stirling’s citizens.

Stirling Council Baillie, Councillor Chris Kane, said: “This friar was a witness to a defining time in Scottish history. Did he watch the beginnings of the Wars of Independence, or did he witness from his window as the Battle of Stirling Bridge unfolded?  Did he tend to the wounds of Edward I, who lodged at the Friary in 1298 after falling from his horse?

“It is incredible to have discovered the remains of someone who might have bore witness to the acts that shaped Stirling and Scotland as we know it.”

Main image: Whyler Photos