Stephen McGill
Encyclopedia
The Right Reverend Stephen McGill PSS
(born Glasgow
4 January 1912; died Glasgow 9 November 2005) was the sixth Bishop
of Argyll and the Isles and second Bishop
of Paisley
.
where he was educated at Holy Cross primary school and St Aloysius' College before entering the national junior seminary at St Mary's College, Blairs, Aberdeen
.
in France
and was ordained priest of the Archdiocese of Glasgow
at St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow by Bishop Henry Grey Graham on 29 June 1936. Following his ordination he returned to France where he entered the novitiate
of the Sulpicians at Issy-les-Moulineaux
, Paris
and was incardinated priest of St Sulpice (PSS) in July of the following year. Further studies were undertaken at the Institut Catholique in Paris where he gained his licentiate in sacred theology (STL) in 1939.
Thereafter he was appointed to the staff of Le Grand Séminaire at Bordeaux
in October 1939 and transferred to Le Grand Séminaire at Aix-en-Provence
in January 1940. At this point the Second World War was under way in Europe
so, following the fall of France to the Germans
in June 1940, Father McGill, as a British citizen, had to make his escape via Marseille
and Spain
to avoid internment
as an enemy alien
.
On his return to Scotland he was appointed to the staff of St Mary's in Blairs where he remained as spiritual director until he was appointed rector in 1951. In 1952 he was made an honorary canon
of the Glasgow cathedral chapter.
of Argyll and the Isles died suddenly in 1959 Canon McGill was appointed to succeed him by Pope John XXIII
and was consecrated bishop in St Columba's Cathedral, Oban
on 22 June 1960. During his time in Argyll and the Isles Bishop McGill attended sessions of the Second Vatican Council
(1962 - 1965) and oversaw translation of the liturgy
into Gaelic.
On the death of Bishop James Black
in March 1968 Bishop McGill was translated by Pope Paul VI
to the see
of Paisley as his successor. There he remained until his retirement in March 1988.
, Glasgow. His motto was, in Latin, Per Tuas Semitas ("By Your Ways") taken from the hymn
'Panis Angelicus
' by St Thomas Aquinas.
Society of Saint-Sulpice
The Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...
(born Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
4 January 1912; died Glasgow 9 November 2005) was the sixth Bishop
Bishop of Argyll and the Isles (Catholic)
The Bishop of Argyll and The Isles is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Argyll and the Isles in the Province of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland....
of Argyll and the Isles and second Bishop
Bishop of Paisley
The Bishop of Paisley is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paisley in the Province of Glasgow.The diocese covers an area of and is the smallest by area in Scotland. The see is in the town of Paisley where the seat is located at St Mirin's Cathedral.The diocese was erected on 25 May...
of Paisley
Diocese of Paisley
The Diocese of Paisley is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Erected on 25 May 1947 from the Archdiocese of Glasgow the diocese covers the historic county of Renfrewshire and is in area making it the smallest diocese by area in Scotland...
.
Early life
Stephen McGill was born on 4 January 1912 to Peter McGill and Charlotte Connolly in Glasgow, ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
where he was educated at Holy Cross primary school and St Aloysius' College before entering the national junior seminary at St Mary's College, Blairs, Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
.
Priesthood
In October 1931 he entered Le Grand Séminaire at CoutancesCoutances
Coutances is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-History:Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town took the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and was ordained priest of the Archdiocese of Glasgow
Archdiocese of Glasgow
The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annandale, Nithsdale, Cunninghame, Kyle, and Strathgryfe, as well as Lennox Carrick...
at St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow by Bishop Henry Grey Graham on 29 June 1936. Following his ordination he returned to France where he entered the novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
of the Sulpicians at Issy-les-Moulineaux
Issy-les-Moulineaux
Issy-les-Moulineaux is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. On 1 January 2003, Issy-les-Moulineaux became part of the Communauté d'agglomération Arc de Seine along with the other communes of Chaville, Meudon, Vanves and Ville-d'Avray...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and was incardinated priest of St Sulpice (PSS) in July of the following year. Further studies were undertaken at the Institut Catholique in Paris where he gained his licentiate in sacred theology (STL) in 1939.
Thereafter he was appointed to the staff of Le Grand Séminaire at Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
in October 1939 and transferred to Le Grand Séminaire at Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
in January 1940. At this point the Second World War was under way in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
so, following the fall of France to the Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in June 1940, Father McGill, as a British citizen, had to make his escape via Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to avoid internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
as an enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
.
On his return to Scotland he was appointed to the staff of St Mary's in Blairs where he remained as spiritual director until he was appointed rector in 1951. In 1952 he was made an honorary canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of the Glasgow cathedral chapter.
Episcopate
When Bishop Kenneth GrantKenneth Grant (bishop)
Kenneth Grant was a Scottish Roman Catholic clergyman who served as the Bishop of Argyll and the Isles from 1945 to 1959.Born in Fort William, Scotland on 18 March 1900, he was ordained to the priesthood of Glasgow on 24 April 1927...
of Argyll and the Isles died suddenly in 1959 Canon McGill was appointed to succeed him by Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
and was consecrated bishop in St Columba's Cathedral, Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
on 22 June 1960. During his time in Argyll and the Isles Bishop McGill attended sessions of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
(1962 - 1965) and oversaw translation of the liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
into Gaelic.
On the death of Bishop James Black
James Black (bishop)
The Right Reverend James Black was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Paisley in Scotland.-Early life:...
in March 1968 Bishop McGill was translated by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
to the see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Paisley as his successor. There he remained until his retirement in March 1988.
Final years
In retirement Stephen McGill maintained his interest in priestly formation and was a prolific letter writer. He died peacefully in his ninety fourth year on 9 November 2005 at Nazareth House, CardonaldCardonald
Cardonald is an outlying suburb of the Scottish city of Glasgow. Formerly a village in its own right, it lies to the southwest of the city and is bounded to the south by the White Cart Water...
, Glasgow. His motto was, in Latin, Per Tuas Semitas ("By Your Ways") taken from the hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
'Panis Angelicus
Panis Angelicus
Panis angelicus is the penultimate strophe of the hymn Sacris solemniis written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the Feast including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours....
' by St Thomas Aquinas.
Sources
- The Catholic Directory for Scotland 2006 (Glasgow, 2006)