The Papal Mass & Catholicism in Scotland

I hope the faithful of the Parish will forgive me for a personal insight regarding the Papal Mass in Glasgow, and indulge me as I put a personal spin on it.

Archbishop Conti (a true guide to the faithful who has always spoken out on grave matters to reinforce Catholic doctrine) gave a wonderful speech on the Faith throughout these isles, and the role of the various wonderful saints who brought Catholicism to every part of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland.

Of course he mentioned St Ninian - whose feast day it is - and his ordination in Rome prior to bringing the Faith to the people of Scotland.

It is here that I remember a small journey made in Scotland.

Some years ago my family and I lived in that fair land and we were walking beside a river in Caithness, at the very northernmost part of Scotland, once a region ruled over by Norsemen.

A little into our walk we bumped into a local man in a field and as we spoke to him about the stone walls around the fields, he told us a wonderful story.

The walls were built with two outer 'skins' of rock, then the centre was filled-in, giving the walls a strength they surely needed to survive some of the winds that would batter them over the years.

A few years before, so the farmer told us, he was repairing a wall when he took out a broken stone with a strange symbol on it. He then found another stone, which fitted the first.

When the two stones were put together, it formed the Chi Rho - the ancient symbol of the early Christians, and the symbol that we now recognise as that of the Pope.

It was this symbol the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great saw in a vision which was then explained to him by Christ in a dream, which he adopted as the Imperial symbol that gave him victory in battle and led to Rome becoming officially Christian.

It was astonishing to think that this old Catholic symbol, perhaps broken after the Reformation, perhaps initially hidden as many holy and ancient objects were, was in this place in some quiet valley in rural Caithness.

It reminded me, and reminds me to this day, of the deep roots of the Catholic Faith throughout these islands, and as Archbishop Conti reminded us today, Christ used His saints to take that Faith to even far flung communities as apart as our parish of Burry Port & Kidwelly and the people of Caithness.

This is the Faith that His Holiness the Pope called on the people of Scotland to live through the love of Jesus Christ.

The Life of St Cadoc

St Cadoc

"The graceful teacher of nearly the whole of Britain"
- Hildas (498 - 570)

St. Cadoc is one of the most important early Welsh saints and a famous son of Monmouthshire. His father Gwynllyw was a local king (commemorated by St. Woolos cathedral. Newport) and his mother Gwladus was the daughter of Brychan, king of Brycheiniog (Brecon). He was a contemporary of Dewi Sant (St. David), St. Patrick of Ireland and St. Columba of lona, but lived before St. Augustine converted the Saxons.

Above Right: Saint Cadog as represented at Belz in Brittany

Cadog (known as Cattwg in south Wales) was a strong contender for Wales' patron saint. His Life was written by Lifricus, son of Bishop Herwald of Llandaff and himself Archdeacon of Glamorgan and Master of St. Cadog of Llancarfan. (It is worth noting that Lifricus, or Lifris, is a form of the Anglo-Saxon name Leofric.) According to this, he was baptised Cadfael by Tathan of Caerwent. When he was seven years of age he was sent to Tathan to be educated, and he instructed him assiduously in Donatus and Priscian and also diligently in other arts for twelve years. He seems to have had no inclination for tasks of secular government, and so, on the conclusion of his education at Caerwent, he sought a suitable place for the monastic life. This he found in the Vale of Glamorgan, at a spot subsequently known as Llancarfan (or, more correctly, Nantcarfan). From there the Life records that he went to Ireland for a further period of study, returning thence after three years with a large number of followers amongst whom were Finian, Macmoil, and Graunan. We next hear of him in the Brycheiniog district where his fame greatly impressed his grandfather, Brychan, who gave him “the part of that field, wherein the wheat was found, which is named Llanspyddid, in which place the holy man built a monastery for himself.” The monastery at Llancarfan, together with that of St. Illtyd at Llaniltyd Fawr (Llantwit Major), became a stronghold of the Christian faith throughout Europe during what is now termed the Dark Ages.

We next hear of him at the river Neath and, afterward, of a journey to Scotland and, later, to Cornwall. These journeys are substantiated by Cadog dedications in those particular areas. There are also several churches dedicated to him in Brittany. He was famed as a teacher whose life (and those of his brother monks) was devoted to serving the community.

It is probable that in his later years he returned to the area around Abergavenny. He died in 570 when his monastery was attacked while Cadoc was celebrating the Mass. In 1022, fearing plunder by the Danes, the shrine of the saint was moved to Mamhilad (7 miles from Abergavenny). His dedications reveal that his activity in Monmouthshire lay in the area to the west of Wentwood. The pattern suggests that there may have been a second monastic centre to that at Llancarfan -— possibly Mamhilad. There is also an intriguing connection with Roman sites in both centres (Gelligaer and Neath in Glamorgan, Caerleon, Raglan and Monmouth in Gwent).

Link:

The Life of Saint Cadoc