Fr Michael Briody, President of the Scalan Association, has been appointed by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland as Vice-President of the recently re-established Scottish Catholic Heritage Commission.
Commenting on his appointment, Bishop Joseph Toal, Bishop of Motherwell said: “The Bishops' Conference has agreed that the Catholic Heritage Commission should oversee and encourage the work of preserving our Scottish Catholic Heritage at home and abroad. Fr Briody is a great enthusiast for our precious Catholic Heritage and has always sought to make it better known and appreciated. He has been involved in the Scalan Association for many years and now serves as its president.
Reacting to his appointment, Fr Briody said: “I am honoured to be asked to take up the task of re-establishing the Scottish Catholic Heritage Commission, and a bit daunted by the prospect. It is a subject which has been important to me since my mother first instilled a love for Scottish Catholic History.
"For me, Catholic Heritage must be about Catholic Faith which centres around the Mass, our great family treasure: where it was celebrated in grandeur or in secret, as at Scalan; for whom was it celebrated and what efforts people made to attend it; who celebrated it for them and the lengths to which we have gone, including remembering the part played by our Scots Colleges in Europe, to ensure the continued celebration of the Mass in Scotland.”
Fr Briody is also President of the San Ambrosio Society, the association of former students and staff of the Scots College in Spain.