The Right Reverend Stephen McGill PSS (4 January 1912 – 9 November 2005) was the sixth

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 ...

of Argyll and the Isles and second

of Paisley.

Early life

Stephen McGill was born on 4 January 1912 to Peter McGill and Charlotte Connolly in Glasgow,

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 ...

where he was educated at Holy Cross primary school and St Aloysius' College before entering the national junior seminary at St Mary's College, Blairs,

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Priesthood

In October 1931 he entered Le Grand Séminaire at Coutances in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and was ordained priest of the Archdiocese of Glasgow at St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow by Bishop

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on 29 June 1936. Following his ordination he returned to France where he entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the Sulpicians at

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...

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and was incardinated priest of St Sulpice (PSS) in July of the following year. Further studies were undertaken at the Institut Catholique in Paris where he gained his licentiate in sacred theology (STL) in 1939. Thereafter he was appointed to the staff of Le Grand Séminaire at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

in October 1939 and transferred to Le Grand Séminaire at

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

in January 1940. At this point the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was under way in

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so, following the fall of France to the

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in June 1940, Father McGill, as a British citizen, had to make his escape via

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and

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to avoid

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

as an enemy alien. On his return to Scotland he was appointed to the staff of St Mary's in Blairs where he remained as spiritual director until he was appointed rector in 1951. In 1952 he was made an honorary canon of the Glasgow cathedral chapter.

Episcopate

When Bishop

Kenneth Grant Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...

of Argyll and the Isles died suddenly in 1959 Canon McGill was appointed to succeed him by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

and was consecrated bishop in

St Columba's Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Columba in Oban is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Argyll and the Isles and mother church of the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles. The cathedral is located on the sea front at the northern end of Oban. Hist ...

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

on 22 June 1960. During his time in Argyll and the Isles Bishop McGill attended sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

(1962 - 1965) and oversaw translation of the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

into

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. On the death of Bishop James Black in March 1968 Bishop McGill was translated by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

to the

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

of Paisley as his successor. There he remained until his retirement in March 1988.

Final years

In retirement Stephen McGill maintained his interest in priestly formation and was a prolific letter writer. He died peacefully in his ninety fourth year on 9 November 2005 at Nazareth House, Cardonald, Glasgow. His motto was, in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, ''Per Tuas Semitas'' ("By Your Ways") taken from the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

Panis angelicus (Latin for "Bread of Angels" or "Angelic Bread") is the penultimate stanza of the hymn "" written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the feast, including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of ...

' by St Thomas Aquinas.

References

Paisley Daily Express

Sources

* The Catholic Directory for Scotland 2006 (Glasgow, 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgill, Stephen Clergy from Glasgow Roman Catholic bishops of Argyll and the Isles Roman Catholic bishops of Paisley People from Renfrewshire 1912 births 2005 deaths People educated at St Aloysius' College, Glasgow 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Scotland Scottish Roman Catholic bishops Sulpician bishops