This year’s feast of St. Patrick, patron of Ireland, that the Irish Catholic community of Glasgow will celebrate today, 17 March, will be very special. In fact, Cardinal Desmond Connel, archbishop emeritus of Dublin, and former primate of Ireland, is awaited in the city to celebrate a solemn liturgy in the church of St. Patrick. It is the first time that an Irish cardinal has celebrated the feast of St. Patrick in Scotland. The cardinal will be welcomed by the archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti, who has declared in a statement: “It’s a great honour for me to welcome Cardinal Connel. The Irish community of our city has played an important role in economic, social and cultural life in these past two centuries and that’s why many Scottish families have relations and friends in Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is a favourable occasion to recall the Irish diaspora the archbishop added and for this reason I hope that many Scottish and Irish Catholics, together, will participate in the celebration officiated by the cardinal, in which we will give thanks to God for the constant blessings He has lavished on the sons and daughters of St. Patrick”.
