Sunday June 14th. 2009

Blessed Mary’s canonisation will be a wonderful event for us here in

She always looked on Roy Bridge as her family home, and when she

visited Roy Bridge in November 1873, she spent a few nights at

Bunroy Chapel House, where Canon MacDougall was the parish

priest. In her diary, she spoke of him as a very holy and devout priest.

She then stayed ten days at Keppoch House, and visited her relatives

Should the canonisation take place in Rome next year, there will be

notice well in advance, and no doubt a group from the diocese will be

arranged to be led by Bishop Toal, who himself has family links to

We might be even more adventurous, and a few of us may wish to

make the long journey to Australia to join in the grand celebrations in

We will all have plenty of time to start saving up, for it will a historical

event in the life of both this parish and the diocese. It is not often that

a parish has some one proclaimed a saint in heaven who is directly

In the future, we can expect even more visitors on pilgrimage to Roy

Bridge and the other sites which Mary visited while in Scotland.

A photo of Mary of the Cross at her desk

         The Scottish Connection

Sister Patricia Keane, who along with Sister Rose, were the first

nuns of the Sisters of St. Joseph to be resident in Lochaber at Caol,

wrote a very excellent pamphlet during her stay here about Blessed

Mary’s visit to Scotland, called the Scottish Connection. A lot of

research went into it, and it is a truly wonderful and precise record of

I intend to order more copies as it is a booklet worth reading and

keeping as a historical souvenir, for it is   an  excellent reference

No doubt, there will be a great demand on it once Mary is canonised,

for we will have many pilgrims here!