20^th Anniversary of the Opening of the (Present) Church of St. Charles, Paisley

 1. You know better than I do, my dear brothers and sisters, that this is the third Church that St. Charles’ Parish has had since the parish was established in 1897. The opening of this recent Church on this site 20 years ago in 1986 by my late predecessor Bishop Stephen McGill was a happy return to the site of the first St. Charles’ Church which was dedicated in 1897.  Without in any sense diminishing the importance of the second St. Charles’ Church, which served the Catholic community of the Charleston district of Paisley from 1931 for 55 years, it is somehow always pleasing to go back to our roots and to renew historical continuity, especially when that means in a sense coming home, as St. Charles’ Parish did, when this fine new Church was opened 20 years ago in 1986.

 2. It never ceases to amaze me that historical details regarding the past have a way of bringing us to the heart of things in the present. When I was reading the commemorative brochure for the opening of this church in 1986, I noticed the fact that one of the former parish priests of St. Charles’, Father Joseph Crumley, who was parish priest from 1929-1941, managed to acquire the tabernacle which was used at the Empire Exhibition at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, and that tabernacle is where the Blessed Sacrament is still reserved here in the new St. Charles.

 3. Of course Bellahouston Park was also the site of the Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II during his historic visit to Scotland in 1982. The altar for that Mass was made by a parishioner of St. Charles Parish, Mr. Tom MacMillan, who also made the altar for the new St. Charles, on which Mass is being celebrated this evening. And the lovely thing is that the table of the altar of this Church was taken from the altar on which the Pope said Mass at Bellahouston Park. Both of these details, concerning the tabernacle and the altar table, take us to the heart of what this Church is. They take us to the Eucharist which gathers the community together to worship God and to hear his word. They take us to Christ who is present in the Eucharist, truly, really and substantially, whole and entire, God and man. And it is Christ is who is the source and centre of the life of the Church and of this parish, and it is from Him – and from his gift of himself in the Eucharist – that we, as our forebears in faith did in the past, must draw new life and inspiration for the Church’s future.

 4. This part of Paisley, originally the area where the weavers resided, has been called Charleston since the end of the 19^th century. It was natural, then, for the new chapel opened at that time, to be called St. Charles. And what a good choice St. Charles is, not just for then, but also for now. Charles Borromeo, who became Archbishop of Milan, had to help reform the Church of his time according to the teaching of the Council of Trent, and, in doing this, he showed himself to be a shepherd after the image of Christ the Good Shepherd. We are living now in the wake of another great Council in the history of the Church, the Second Vatican Council. Although the Council took place 40 years ago, we are still trying to let the Church envisaged by the Council emerge fully. I see that as our work as a diocese and as my work as a bishop, a task to be undertaken in communion with the Successor of Peter.

 5. So, on this 20^th Anniversary of the Opening of this Church of St. Charles’, Paisley, I encourage the priests and people of this parish community to join with me in the task of becoming the Church according to the vision of the Second Vatican Council: a holy and prayerful Church; a Church filled with the Word of God, sanctified by the Sacraments and centred on the Eucharist; a Church in which everyone is evangelised and is an evangeliser; a pilgrim Church on the way to the full coming of God’s kingdom and to the heavenly Jerusalem; a Church which has a thirst for justice and for sharing the burdens of humanity; a Church which, like her foremost member, Mary the mother of the Lord, is a shining sign of  hope for all human beings. May the Holy Spirit be our helper and guide as we go forward with this work. May God continue to bless abundantly the priests and faithful of St. Charles’ Parish, Charleston, Paisley.

 St. Charles’ Paisley

3^rd November 2006