Scottish Catholic Observer

Glasgow has been shaking off the January blues this week with a rousing festival dedicated to St Mungo, the city’s patron saint.

Many Glaswegians knowledge of the city’s founder, St Mungo (also known as St Kerntigern), extends as far as a cursory mention of the bird that never flew, the tree that never grew, the bell that never rang and the fish that never swam but the St Mungo Festival aims to change all that.

Now in its second year, the festival event utilised music, dance and religious services to help bring the message of St Mungo to life in modern Glasgow.

Church support

Though an ecumenical event, it has the whole-hearted backing of Glasgow Archdiocese.

“It is heartening and impressive to see the cities patron saint celebrated in a festival bearing his name,” Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow told the SCO this week. “The events are marked by a strong ecumenical flavour and a most welcome interest and commitment from the city council.  It is my hope that from small beginnings the St Mungo Festival will grow into a regular and significant feature of city life.”

The archdiocesan choir the St Mungo Singers was appropriately involved in several events.

Last Saturday they helped launch the festival at a short event at the Mitchell Library. In addition to readings from the mediaeval Vita Kentigerni, the 12th century text that is the source of most of our present knowledge of St Mungo, the event included musical performances from the children of St Patrick’s Primary, Anderston, and the St Mungo’s Singers.

St Mungo services

On Sunday there was an ecumenical evening service at St Mungo’s Cathedral that featured St Mungo Singers, Russkaya Cappella, Rutherglen Salvation Army Band, the Cathedral Strings, a harpist and ballet dancers, as well as representatives from the city council and churches, including Archbishop Conti who also celebrated Mass at St Mungo’s Church in Townhead to mark to mark the saint’s actual feast day.

This Mass was especially significant as it was the first time a new edition of the Mass prayers for the feast of Glasgow’s patron saint have been said. The new prayers were recently approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship in Rome.

Archbishop Conti said a lot of people deserved praise for the new prayers.

“I want to thank those who have been involved in the presentation of these texts, both in terms of their compilation and their publication,” he  said. “In particular I want to thank Fr Gerard Byrne, whose research work and provision of the new texts received the compliments of the Congregation. Others have assisted him and I am grateful to them all. My hope is that this will be a model to be followed in the providing of texts with recommended hymns and prayers for all those feasts which are included in the National Proper for Scotland.”

The Mass in Townhead was also graced by the singing of the St Mungo’s Singers. The choir’s convenor Mgr Gerry Fitzpatrick said the Festival was a great initiative.

“It’s a really important event,” he added. “And I think it’s a sign of the times that people in Glasgow seem to respond really well to it. It feels like there is a growing appreciation of St Mungo in Glasgow and hopefully the festival will get bigger and better each year!”

Celebration in the arts

In addition to the ecumenical aspects of the festival there were also artistic and historical events.

Most notable of the music events was the St Mungo’s Bairns,  a multi-cultural gala concert at St Andrews in the Square, last Saturday.

A major celebration concert it featured a host of Glasgow’s top artists from the city’s many indigenous and diverse Celtic and world musical cultures. The night featured The Ideal Band, African High Life band, Adam McNaughton, Maggie McInnes, Neilston and District Pipe Band  and  AKAYA  West African Drummers.

The festival also featured a ballet about the life of St Mungo. The Ballet of the Tree and Bell was performed at the St Enoch Centre this Friday and was developed by the Visual Statement dance company and Danny Dobbie. It is based around the reading  from the Vita St Kentigern, the Life of  St Mungo, and develops the idea that the tree that never grew was at first only a twig or branch, and is so shown on the oldest seal of the burgh, an impression of which is affixed to a document granted in 1325. This device commemorated the frozen bough which Kentigern miraculously kindled into flame when the holy fire in the refectory at Culross monastery had, during his sleep, been maliciously extinguished by his envious companions.

Among the many other events was a St Mungo’s nature pilgrimage that took people on a whistle stop tour, to some inspirational locations associated with St Mungo. There was also a celebrating Glasgow Schools Exhibition that allowed many school pupils to display art works celebrating Glasgow in the St Enoch’s shopping centre.

Council support

One of the chief movers behind the festival was Bailie Catherine McMaster who said the festival served a valuable role in the life of the city.

“The life of St Mungo and his role in establishing and promoting Glasgow is one that we should value and celebrate,” she said. “This historically significant figure helped shape Glasgow as we know it today. The St Mungo Festival is a tremendous celebration of Glasgow’s dance and musical cultures with many memorable performances and events to look forward to that we hope will continue to grow each year.”

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Picture: Dan McGinty