Scottish Catholic Observer

Pilgrims to Carfin Grotto last Sunday September 4 were encouraged by Scotland’s clergy to follow the example of Mother Teresa and St Margaret of Scotland by helping those in need in the Year of Mercy.

The event saw pilgrims flock to worship at the national shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes for the annual National Pilgrimage Day in honour of St Margaret of Scotland. Around 1,300 pilgrims joined together to celebrate Mass in the Grotto.

Mother Teresa received special mention at the Mass—who was canonised as St Teresa of Calcutta earlier in the day by Pope Francis at a special Vatican ceremony—with a large icon of the new saint featured prominently beside the outdoor altar in front of the Glass Chapel.

The main celebrant at the Mass was Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow, who concelebrated with more than 40 members of clergy, with the homily delivered by Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews & Edinburgh. The musical liturgy was led by the Motherwell Diocesan Choir.

Archbishop Cushley spoke to pilgrims in his homily about the work of St Margaret, patroness of Scotland, and Mother Teresa, comparing the two in how they both helped the poorest and neediest in society, and in connection with this year’s Holy Year of Mercy encouraged the faithful there to do the same.

“St Margaret is someone from 900 years ago who was close to the poor and who worked with the poor with her own two hands, and encouraged the king of this realm to do the same,” Archbishop Cushley said after Mass. “It was an example that made such an impression that to this day we owe a great deal to her sense of Christian goodness and her outreach to the poor, and Mother Teresa did the same.”

“Everybody knows who Mother Teresa is and everybody was impressed,” he added. “No matter what they thought of her faith, they were always impressed by the way she reached out to the poor, and I think that’s a great lesson to all of us, whether we’re Catholics or not, whether we’re believers or not.”

The Mass was followed by a Rosary procession around the Grotto ending with Benediction, with all the pilgrims invited into the Xavier Centre afterwards for teas and coffees.

“It was a lovely celebration today,” Archbishop Tartaglia said. “It was very uplifting. The sun shone, we had a lot of people here and a lot of younger people, and it was really quite a special occasion. I think everybody was happy too because of Mother Teresa and because we were celebrating and giving thanks for St Margaret, who is such a wonderful patron for Scotland.”

“I think it was a very special day and it was made more meaningful too by honouring St Margaret in the Year of Mercy and by Mother Teresa’s canonisation,” Bishop Toal of Motherwell said. “It’s a very joyful occasion for us in the Church to be together and celebrate. Mother Teresa is a lovely example to us all of service to the Church and in particular to the poor, and she should encourage us to be faithful in that way and in any way that’s necessary.”