St Columba's Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Woodside, Glasgow Woodside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow and also forms some of the most southern part of the much larger district of Maryhill. It is situated north of the River Clyde, between the River Kelvin and the Forth and Clyde Canal. The c ...

, Scotland. It was completed in 1941 and designed by

Gillespie, Kidd & Coia Gillespie, Kidd & Coia was a Scottish architectural firm famous for their application of modernism in churches and universities, as well as at St Peter's Seminary in Cardross. Though founded in 1927, they are best known for their work in the ...

. It is situated on Hopehill Road south west of Garscube Road. From 2005 until 2016 it was served by priests from the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

. Since 2016 it has been served by the

Holy Ghost Fathers The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (officially the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary; ) is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are often known as Holy ...

. It is a category A listed building.

History

On 26 March 1937, a Fr Denis Flynn applied for permission to build a Catholic church in Woodside, Glasgow. Soon after was the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Scotland. In that exhibition was the Catholic Pavilion, which was designed by Jack Coia. He was commissioned to design St Columba's Church. However, construction was halted during the initial years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1941, permission was granted for construction to continue and the church was completed during the Blitz. The cost of constructing of the church was paid by local congregation. Each local family paid 6d for the bricks used in construction.St Columba's Church Woodside, Glasgow
from Scotland's Churches Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2017 It was the only church to be completed in Glasgow during World War II.
from ScotCities.com. Retrieved 27 October 2017

Architecture

The church design is inspired by the Italian Romanesque style with

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

layout. The front of the church, facing west, has a cross-shaped window. While the exterior is made of brick, it is built over a concrete

portal frame Portal frame is a construction technique where vertical supports are connected to horizontal beams or trusses via fixed joints with designed-in moment-resisting capacity. The result is wide spans and open floors. Portal frame structures can be ...

and has a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

. Over the central door is a sculpture of the Paschal Lamb over central door. The church's

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

were painted by Hugh Adam Crawford and came from the Catholic Pavilion at the Empire Exhibition, Scotland. In the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

is a marble

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

with a carved crucifix by

Benno Schotz Benno Schotz (28 August 1891 – 11 October 1984) was an Estonian-born Scottish sculptor, and one of Scotland's leading artists during the twentieth century. Biography Early life Schotz was the youngest of six children of Jewish parents, Ja ...

.Glasgow 74 to 76 Hopehill Road
from Canmore. Retrieved 27 October 2017

Parish

In 2005, the Dominican priests began their service to the parish. They remained in the parish until 2016, when they withdrew from area. In their place, the

arrived and have served until 7 January 2021, when the Blessed Sacrament Fathers took over the administration of the parish. The Holy Ghost Fathers who went to the south side of the city to be near the Queen Elizabeth University Teaching Hospital of which they also serve as chaplains. There are five Sunday Masses held in the church at 4:00pm on Saturday, 8:30am, 10:00am, 12:00pm and 5:00pm on Sunday. From Monday to Friday there are Masses at 10:00am and 12:30pm.

References

External links

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St Columba's Parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasgow, Saint Columba

Saint Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Gaelic Ireland, Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the ...

Listed Roman Catholic churches in Scotland Roman Catholic churches in Scotland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1941 1937 establishments in Scotland Romanesque Revival church buildings in the United Kingdom

20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom

Dominican churches in the United Kingdom

History

Architecture

Parish

See also

References

External links