First woman appointed as General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Luisa Campbell, Credit: Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Source: Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Scotland's Bishops' Conference has appointed the first member of the lay faithful and the first woman to the role of their General Secretary. Luisa Campbell will take up the role in February 2026.

Luisa grew up in the diocese of Galloway and has lived in both the Archdiocese of Glasgow and the Diocese of Aberdeen. After gaining Masters' degrees in both Engineering and Business Administration, she worked for almost 40 years in industry, ultimately as chief executive of a Scottish business which she led for over two decades. Her roles involved leadership, governance, strategy, commercial finance, mergers and acquisitions and organisational development. During that time, she also acted as a trustee of several charities, served as a non-executive director and as trustee of a large pension scheme.

In parallel with her working career, Luisa has been actively involved in the life of the Church in Scotland at both parish and diocesan level in the areas of youth work, parish administration, liturgy, evangelisation, RCIA and finance. Luisa retired early from work in 2020 to pursue her passion for voluntary work in the Catholic Church.

Responding to her invitation from the bishops, Luisa said, "I look forward to serving the Bishops of Scotland in my new role as General Secretary, bringing together my experience in the Church and in the world of business."

Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, President of the Bishops' Conference, said, "The bishops are delighted that Luisa has accepted this post and will continue the good work carried on by Fr Gerry Maguiness over the past years. Luisa brings a wealth of experience both as a committed laywoman in the Church who has served our parishes and dioceses loyally over the years and who also has vast experience of life in the world and where she has made a fruitful contribution. We look forward to working with her in the service of the Church in Scotland in the years ahead."

The Bishops of Scotland thanked Fr Gerry Maguiness for "his wise, effective and tireless stewardship of the General Secretariat over the past six years" and wished him well as takes up the office of parish priest of St. Bride's in Cambuslang.