Ordinariate welcomes first priest in Scotland

Ordination in Inverness

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham welcomed its first Scottish priest on Sunday. The former Episcopal minister, Fr Len Black, 61 and a grandfather of two, was ordained at St Mary's Church in Greenock by Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley.

Fr Black was an Episcopal minister for 30 years. He served at St Michael and All Angels in Inverness and was also the regional dean of Forward in Faith.

Fr Black delivered his last sermon at St Michael's earlier this year. About a dozen members of his congregation are believed to be converting with him.

Bishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen, ordained Rev Black to the diaconate last month at Pluscarden Abbey near Elgin. Speaking before his ordiation, he said: "The gift of ordination is a great privilege and honour, and for me it is also the culmination of a long journey into full communion with the Catholic Church made possible by the generosity of Pope Benedict."

Bishop Tartaglia, said: "I am delighted to ordain the Rev Len Black to the priesthood. Although the group in Scotland is very small, when taken along with considerably more groups and clergy in England and Wales - and with ordinariate arrangements coming into place soon in the United States and possibly in Australia later - this begins to look like a new and visionary way of re- creating Christian unity after years of ecumenical stalemate. It is marked by the striking originality, simplicity, and generosity of a Pope Benedict XVI initiative."