THE
P RTAL
July 2016
Page 21
Ordinariate Pilgrimage
to St Andrews
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane join the fourth Ordinariate
Year of Mercy Pilgrimage to St Andrews
D
riving to Scotland was not a pleasure. The weather was awful; driving rain and tremendous
spray on the motorway. That is, there was spray when we were able to move. For mile after mile, the
M6 was plagued by road works at which no one was working, or even present! Even when traffic was able to
move, it did so at a snail’s pace. No, the drive to Scotland was not a pleasurable experience.
We had never been to St Andrews, despite the fact
that Ronald had been to school not that far away
in Montrose. St Andrews, in the Kingdom of Fife,
turned out to be a lovely place. It is right on the sea
and has many ancient buildings and an illustrious
pre-reformation history. The ruins of St Andrews
Cathedral stand proudly at one end of the main street
high above the shore line and the harbour not far from
the castle.
Being a University city, there are plenty of places for
refreshment as well as a host of tourists. We arrived in
good time for the Pilgrimage and managed to park the
car all day, for free! Now that is something the English
could learn from the Scots! The parking space was
right next to the Cathedral as well, a real bonus.
the sun came out. More people attended than had
been expected and that is always a good sign. Prayers
were said and we all lined up for the procession to the
Catholic Parish Church of St James. We processed
right through the city and along the road called The
Scores on the ‘north cliff ’. Although this is just by the
sea-front, there is a steep drop down to the shore, so
it was a beautiful walk, passing the Castle, which was
actually the Bishop’s Palace as we learned later.
St James Catholic Parish Church is a beautiful
building and we were all grateful to Fr Michael
John Galbraith, the Parish Priest, for his welcome,
kindness and generosity. Arriving at the church, the
pilgrims filed into the pews and prayed quietly as Mgr
Keith Newton, and Fathers Black and Bennie heard
Confessions. Before long, it was time for the Sung
The rain held off and as the pilgrims gathered in the Mass to begin. Good rousing hymns, clear readi ng of
ruins of the Cathedral, right by the tower of St Rule, the scriptures, an excellent homily about the Prodigal