Seeking truth & beauty in the Catholic Church

"I never considered how profoundly grounded in love and humanity the Catholic faith was," says Ilhan Alp Yilmaz.

The 23-year-old student from Turkey is one of 33 people, mostly young adults, from St James' Parish in St Andrews who will become Catholic at Easter.

Ilhan says he was drawn to Catholicism by "a sincere feeling of thankfulness for everything in my life".

He has enjoyed the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) process at the parish: "Learning something new each week about the faith, made endlessly entertaining by Monsignor Burke's wit."

'Looking for transcendence'

Fr Patrick BurkeA recent survey commissioned by the Bible Society and conducted by YouGov found what many priests have noticed over the last few years: more young adults are attending Church.

Monsignor Patrick Burke, left, parish priest at St James', said: "I think it's happening because young people are aware of a certain of a certain shallowness in contemporary culture  and are looking for deeper truth and meaning.

"I think they are also looking for community and belonging and a recognition that much of what is promised by contemporary celebrity culture does not actually yield deep happiness.

"When I was based at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, we were amazed by the number of young people who wanted to join RCIA.

"The Catholic Church offers meaning, beauty,  truth, and transcedence...I think they are looking for transcendence."

'Quiet courage of young people'

This Saturday, Archbishop Cushley will celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass at 8:00pm in St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, where 12 catechumens and 21 candidates will be received into Full Communion with the Catholic Church.

He said: "The quiet courage of any young person choosing faith is a sign that God is still at work in our world.

"Perhaps more young people are discovering in the Christian faith something deeper—something lasting. A peace and a sense of belonging - not to a “feed”, but to a family of faith that stretches back 2,000 years and reaches into eternity.

"The world feels overshadowed by suffering— the horror of war in Ukraine, in the Holy Land, and by civil and political unrest in the places we once looked to for security and stability.

"In the face of that, we look for truth, for reality, and for some common sense."

Alex Peris, 20, St James' Parish

Alexander Peris, 20, is one of the group from St James' Parish who will become Catholic at Easter.

The student, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said: "When I arrived at St Andrews, one of the people I became good friends with was Catholic, and over the course of many conversations I became more open to Christianity as a whole.

"Then I started going to Mass and reading more about the faith and it all clicked.

"Catholicism’s historical roots and internal consistency appealed to me.

"I realised that my entire understanding of morality and Western civilization was wholly dependent on the teachings of Christ and his Church.

"I look forward to continuing to build a prayer life and deepening my faith.

"I’m also looking forward to exploring the Catholic community in my hometown of Pittsburgh."

Jessica Hrycak, 19, St James' Parish

Jessica, from Milton Keynes, said: "I was raised in a Christian household, but it wasn’t until University that I decided to take my religion more seriously.

"My friends in Halls would always have religious debates at meal times, and this is how I began learning about Catholicism.

"From there, I started going to Mass, as their conversations had drawn me to the Catholic church.

"I then started RCIA as a way to learn more about God, and what it means to be a Catholic.

"(I've enjoyed) learning about Catholic devotions, and the history of the Church.

"My friends at University have all always been here for me.  I have never felt any judgement, and they are always willing to answer any questions I may have."

Ilhan Alp Yilmaz, 23, St James' Parish

Ilhan, from Istanbul, said: "My sister and I were raised irreligious, and so my knowledge of any religion was rather slim.

"I never considered how profoundly grounded in love and humanity the Catholic faith was and I was surprised that its beliefs were holistic and not a series of disconnected doctrines.

"I've enjoyed learning something new each week about the faith."

And his hopes for the future as a new Catholic? "To keep the faith."

Aimee Koo, St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh

Aimee, a law and politics student at Stirling University, will be baptised at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, she said: “I did a lot of research on YouTube, just to have confidence to know the step I am taking.

“(RCIA) has been great. Every question you have they will answer. The catechists are volunteers and they’re very knowledgeable - they use so much of their spare time helping us and all the other catechumans.

“You do get a strong community within churches so I'm very blessed that it wasn't too much of a struggle.”

The Easter Vigil takes place at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh on Saturday Saturday 19 April at 7:00pm. To find out more about the RCIA programme at the Cathedral contact cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk. Download the Quiet Revival study here.

Archdiocesan medals for Fife trio

Congratulations to Aileen Brown, Colin McAllister and David Brown who were presented with Archdiocesan medals by Archbishop Cushley at the weekend.

For many year Aileen Brown, of Leven, has volunteered on a weekly basis to do the finance work, including the year-end accounts, for the parish of St James in St Andrews.

Aileen (79), a former bookkeeper, retired from this role in 2021 but continued preparing the annual accounts until 2024.

She was also a member of the Fabric & Finance Committee up until September last year.

David Brown, of St Andrews, was baptised at St James’ in 1945 and  attended Mass there as a child. He moved to London in his twenties before returning in 1975.

Since them he has served faithfully as sacristan and passkeeper at the Saturday Vigil Mass.

David is a retiring man and everything he does or donates to the church he does so quietly in the background.

Colin McAllister, of St Andrews, was born in the town and also attended university there.

Since 1990 Colin has single handedly tended the gardens at St James, buying plants and shrubs and keeping the garden in a beautiful state - the parish has frequently won the annual Best Garden Competition run by the town council.

He attends Mass daily and is well known throughout the town.

The Archdiocesan Medal is awarded by the Archdiocese to recognise outstanding service to the Catholic Church. The medal was established in 1975 by Cardinal Gordon Joseph Gray. 

Students visit Edinburgh for holy relic of St Margaret

Archbishop Cushley welcomed students from the Catholic Society of St Andrews University today (Thursday 2 October) to collect a holy relic of St Margaret.

They visited St Margaret's Chapel at the Gillis Centre, Edinburgh, with university chaplain Fr Michael John Galbraith.

Students venerate the relic of St Margaret with Fr Michael John Galbraith.

He said: "When I heard the relics were available, I jumped at the chance because our Canmore Chaplaincy is dedictated to St Margaret.

"The students here today are very involved in life at the chaplaincy and very devout in their own faith - they are delighted to visit Edinburgh and receive the relic of St Margaret, which will be displayed for veneration at the Canmore chaplaincy at the university."

Archbishop Cushley told students about the background of the relics of St Margaret.

Maria Alexandra Vlachogiani, a third year Maths student, said: "A lot of Christians find their home at the chaplaincy in St Andrews and Fr Michael John is always there to support us."

The Archdiocese was approached by parishes dedicated to St Margaret after the relic fragmented while being removed from its reliquary at St Margaret's Church in Dunfermline in 2019.

The monstrance holding the relic of St Margaret and the official certificate confirming its authenticity.

That meant smaller relics were made available and parishes from Scotland and further afield (including Chile) petitioned the Archdiocese to entrust a relic for veneration by the faithful there. The smaller relics are from the scapular bone of the Saint.

The students in the main picture are Ella Balet, Blake Boehne, Veronica Harris, Christopher Levesque, Jovana Joseph, Matthew Matisz, Hannah Menezes, Jarrett Miller and Maria Alexandra Vlachogiani.

Find out more about the Canmore Catholic Chaplaincy at https://www.canmorecatholicchaplaincy.com or follow them on Facebook.

Music and joy at inaugural St Margaret's Lecture and Choral Mass

The music of Sir James Macmillan filled St Salvator's Chapel in St Andrews on Wednesday after he gave a stirring talk on 'Christianity and Music'in the inaugural St Margaret Lecture and Sung Choral Mass.

Fr Michael John Galbraith, Catholic chaplain to the University, said: "This is a new joint venture between the School of Divinity at the university and Canmore Catholic Chaplaincy.

"They are the fruit of ecumenical outreach and discussions and it was a joy to welcome Sir James MacMillan as the inaugural speaker.

"It was thrilling to hear St Salvator's Chapel Choir sing so beautifully at the choral Mass. As well as helping raise their minds and hearts to God, for many it brought back fond memories of Pope Benedict's visit in 2010, for which the Mass was written.

"A number of our parishioners were able to join in as the Mass parts are easy to learn and our student schola rehearsed them beforehand.

He added: "As well as having what someone told me was the largest academic procession in St Salvator's that they'd ever seen, it was thoroughly ecumenical, with people from many different Christian denominations, and perhaps none."

In his homily, Archbishop Leo Cushley said it was a "fitting gesture" that the new annual lecture bears the name of St Margaret.

He said: "In this sacred place, we are reminded of much of the circumstances around the birth of the University.

"Among the threads of history that arrive here, is the desire of Scots leaders stretching back to people like St Margaret, who wished to see Scotland a better country, politically, ecclesiastically, socially, intellectually.

"Higher education wasn’t merely about utility or prestige: it was a means of furthering the progress of the nation.  At its most noble, it was also a means for pursuing the good and the truth.

"St Margaret was a committed Christian and a social reformer, and she understood all this well. She was one of the greatest women Scotland has ever known, and one of the most significant champions of social, political and ecclesiastical improvement we have ever had, and she is almost the first such leader in Scotland that we can point to.  That the annual lecture we are instituting today bears her name is a fitting gesture."

He finished: "May God bless the University of St Andrews, and may it ever excel in its pursuit of goodness and truth."

Other priests present were Fr Andrew Kingham (the previous Catholic chaplain) and priests who were graduates from the university - Fr Scott Deeley, Fr Kevin Douglas and Fr Liam O'Connor.