Bishop William Nolan has been appointed by Pope Francis as the new Archbishop of Glasgow.
He succeeds Archbishop Philip Tartaglia who died suddenly at his home in Glasgow in January last year. He had tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after Christmas and was self-isolating.
Bishop Nolan, who is currently Bishop of Galloway, said it would be a "wrench" to leave his own diocese but reassured Scotland's largest Catholic community that he was committed to his new role after the initial "shock".
He said: “I feel overwhelmed by the trust Pope Francis is putting in me by appointing me as Archbishop of Glasgow."
“It will be wrench for me to leave Galloway Diocese where for seven years I have experienced the kindness and friendship of so many people, particularly the clergy.
“God truly blessed me by sending me to Galloway and I hope that my successor there will be similarly blessed.
“As I overcome my initial shock at being appointed Archbishop my thoughts now turn to the challenges that lies ahead.
“I look forward to working with everyone in the Archdiocese, laity and clergy, to carry out the mission that we share of proclaiming God’s good news and of bringing the joy of the gospel into the lives of the people of today.”
Message from Archbishop-elect Nolan pic.twitter.com/hcPIaXH2AS
— Archdiocese of Glasgow (@ArchdiocGlasgow) February 4, 2022
The 68-year-old was brought up in Wishaw, the forth of eleven children and studied at St Vincent’s College in Langbank before progressing to St Mary’s College, Blairs in Aberdeen.
He completed his studies at Scots College in Rome and was ordained priest for the Diocese of Motherwell on June 30 1977.
He was appointed Vice-Rector of the Scots College in Rome from 1983 to 1990 and on returning to Scotland was assistant priest at St Bridget’s, Baillieston, from 1990 to 1994.
While parish priest at Our Lady of Lourdes in East Kilbride, from 1994 to 2014 he held several other assignments, including judge of the National Ecclesisatical Tribunal in Scotland.
In 2013, he was appointed administrator of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in East Kilbride when its pastor, Matthew Despard, was suspended during a canonical investigation.
Despard had published an attack on the Church hierarchy and tangled with Bishop Joseph Toal, apostolic administrator of the diocese.
Pope Francis appointed Nolan to succeed John Cunningham as Bishop of Galloway on November 22 2014.
His appointment as Archbishop of Glasgow was welcomed by Alistair Dutton, Chief Executive of the charity SCIAF, who said: “A very warm congratulations to Bishop William Nolan who has been appointed as Archbishop of Glasgow by Pope Francis today.
"We deeply appreciate his presence on SCIAF’s Board and his commitment to social justice.
"SCIAF has benefited greatly from his leadership, most recently his contributions throughout COP26.
"We wish him well as he concludes his time with the people and priests of Galloway and begins a new chapter in Glasgow.”
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