LONDON - 22 February 2008 - 380 words
Head of Barcelona FC donates statue to Glasgow church
A group of generous Spaniards, including
the MD of Barcelona FC, has donated a statue of the Black Madonna
to St Aloysius' Church in Glasgow. The statue - a copy
of the original in Montserrat in Spain - has been blessed and
placed on the Lady Altar of the church.
The Black Madonna, or the Virgin of Montserrat to give it its
full title, is a statue of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Christ
venerated at the Monastery of Santa María de Montserrat
in the Montserrat Mountains in Catalonia. It is a Romanesque
sculpture in wood from the late 12th century. In March
1522, Ignatius of Loyola - having recovered from his battle wounds
- visited the Benedictine monastery and prayed before this image
of Our Lady.
Meanwhile, St Aloysius Church is also preparing for a special
Mass for the Feast of St John Ogilvie on 10 March, who is Scotland's
only Jesuit martyr and only post-reformation saint. At
the 12.30pm Mass, the Chancellor of the Archdiocese (or someone
nominated by him) will bless a plaque at the National Shrine to
St John Ogilvie which is in the church. The Shrine
was built in 1933, just a few years after his Beatification in
1929.
John Ogilvie - originally from Banffshire in Scotland - entered
the Society of Jesus in 1608 and was ordained a priest in Paris
in 1610. He begged his superiors to send him back to
Scotland to minister to the few remaining Catholics in the Glasgow
area and eventually returned to Scotland in November 1613 disguised
as a soldier. He preached in secret and celebrated
Mass clandestinely in private homes. But within the
year, he was betrayed and arrested in Glasgow and imprisoned in
Paisley. Despite severe torture, he refused to disclose
the names of local Catholics and was convicted of high treason. On
10 March 1615, aged 36 years, John Ogilvie was paraded through
the streets of Glasgow and hanged at Glasgow Cross. He
was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1976.
© Independent Catholic News 2008
Contact Independent
Catholic News tel/fax:
+44 (0)20 7267 3616 or email
Chaplain • Latest news • Archive • Listings • Pictures •