bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
who served as the
Vicar Apostolic
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec, Canada on 7 April 1802, the son of a Scottish father and English mother, he came to
Fochabers
Fochabers (; gd, Fachabair or Fothabair) is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, east of the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. 1,728 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich mus ...
with his parents in 1816. The following year, he entered the Seminary of Aquhorties as an ecclesiastical student and a year later on 3 December 1818, on the instructions of Bishop Alexander Cameron, he and four companions set off from Aquhorties for Paris. Once there, he entered the Seminary of St Nicholas on 16 December 1818. He left St Nicholas in October 1823 and entered the Sulpician's Seminary of Issy, returning to Scotland in April 1826 after his health had given way. He was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
by Bishop Paterson at Aquhorties on 9 June 1827.
In 1831, John Menzies of Pitfodels, having, three years previously, bestowed on the Catholic Church in Scotland his extensive estate at Blairs, Aberdeenshire, where a seminary was built, came to reside permanently in Edinburgh and he persuaded Bishop Paterson to live with him at his home, 24 York Place. The Bishop took Gillis with him, as his secretary.
Gillis was appointed the
Coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence.
These include:
* Coadj ...
Vicar Apostolic of the Eastern District and
Titular Bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of ''
Limyra
Limyra ( grc, Λίμυρα) ( xlc, 𐊈𐊚𐊎𐊒𐊕𐊁 was a small city in ancient Lycia on the southern coast of Asia Minor, on the Limyrus River ( grc, Λιμύρος).
History
Already flourishing in the second millennium BC, the c ...
'' by the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
on 28 July 1837 and
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
to the
Episcopate
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
on 22 July 1838. The principal
consecrator
A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop.
The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...
Andrew Carruthers
Andrew Carruthers (1770–1852) was a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Eastern District (Scotland), Eastern District of Scotland.
Born in Drumil ...
Roman Catholic Church in Scotland
The Catholic Church in Scotland overseen by the Scottish Bishops' Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. After being firmly established in Scotland for nearly a millennium, the Catholic Church was outlawed f ...
was not yet re-established. As a young priest, Gillis was sent by Bishop Paterson to the European continent to raise funds for a convent. On his journey via London, he was introduced to Miss Ann Agnes Trail, the daughter of a minister of the Church of Scotland. Subsequently on his return to England, Miss Trail wrote to him offering herself as a member of his projected community. Miss Margaret Clapperton, who was to be one of the founding members of the community, came from
Fochabers
Fochabers (; gd, Fachabair or Fothabair) is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, east of the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. 1,728 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich mus ...
and had known James Gillis for much of her life. It was agreed that Miss Trail and Miss Clapperton should go together to
Chavagnes
Chavagnes (; also called Chavagnes-les-Eaux) is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department of western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new Terranjou commune.Mother House of the
Ursulines
The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...
and they arrived there on 31 August 1833. In June 1834, Gillis bought Whitehouse, for his proposed convent with 2 acres of ground for £3,000 from Ann Oliphant.
The initial group of eleven Sisters comprising Miss Trail (now Sister Agnes Xavier), Miss Clapperton (now Sister Margaret Teresa), The Reverend Mother St Hilaire, Mother St Paula, Sister St Damian, Sister Alexis, Sister John Chrysostom, Sister Mary Emily, Sister Angelina and two lay Sisters (Sister Stephen and Sister Eustelle) then travelled to Scotland but had to live elsewhere for four months while the Convent was being made ready. On 26 December 1834, the community took possession of St Margaret's Convent, which was the first post-Reformation convent in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
At St Margaret's, arrangements had been made for the reception of young lady boarders, whose education was to be the principal work of the sisters. On 16 June 1835, the Feast of St Margaret, the new St Margaret's Chapel, which had been built alongside the Whitehouse Mansion House, was finished.
In 1863, this chapel went on to house a
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
, given to them by Bishop Gillis, of
St Margaret of Scotland
Saint Margaret of Scotland ( gd, Naomh Maighréad; sco, Saunt Marget, ), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was an English princess and a Scottish queen. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". Born in the Kingdom of Hungary to th ...
.
For more than 150 years, until it closed in 1986, it was well known in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
Ursulines
The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...
