Highland Deanery Pilgrimage to the Royal Burgh of Tain,
22 August 2015
Below you will find some photos from the Tain Pilgrimage Mass on Saturday 22 August, led by the Most Reverend Archbishop Mario Conti, Emeritus Archbishop of Glasgow and former Bishop of Aberdeen Diocese. He was joined by priests from the Highland Deanery.
The St. Duthac's Collegiate Church was filled with pilgrims and priests from the surrounding parishes of Tain, Dingwall, Alness, Invergordon, Brora, Wick & Thurso, Dingwall, Fortrose, Beauly, Inverness, Culloden, Nairn, Aviemore, and Fort Augustus.
The pilgrimage was organised to celebrate the granting of the Papal Bull (papal seal) to Tain in 1492. The term, 'Bull' comes from Latin 'Bulla', referring to the lead seal attached to papal documents. Papal recognition of the Church and Shrine at Tain led to a most active period of pilgrimage, encouraged by the numerous annual visits of James IV, and it became a place of royal pilgrimage by British Monarchs throughout the centuries. Indeed, Tain was to become Scotland's first Royal Burgh.
At the weekend, pilgrims were able to view a replica of the Papal Bull in its original silver frame at the Tain Museum beside the church, and to buy copies of the rare Vatican document written in Latin, and now translated into English, Gaelic, and several European languages for visitors to the museum.
Following the Mass, the pilgrims sang hymns during their procession through Tain, as they walked in the glorious sunshine to the ruins of the Old St. Duthac's Church in the cemetery overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Afterwards they all gathered for a buffet and refreshments hosted by St. Vincent’s Church in Tain.
Archbishop Mario Conti thanked all those who made the Highland Deanery Pilgrimage to Tain, and he thanked in a particular way the Royal Burgh of Tain and the Pilgrimage Centre and Museum for their hospitality.
The St. Duthac's Collegiate Church was filled with pilgrims and priests from the surrounding parishes of Tain, Dingwall, Alness, Invergordon, Brora, Wick & Thurso, Dingwall, Fortrose, Beauly, Inverness, Culloden, Nairn, Aviemore, and Fort Augustus.
The pilgrimage was organised to celebrate the granting of the Papal Bull (papal seal) to Tain in 1492. The term, 'Bull' comes from Latin 'Bulla', referring to the lead seal attached to papal documents. Papal recognition of the Church and Shrine at Tain led to a most active period of pilgrimage, encouraged by the numerous annual visits of James IV, and it became a place of royal pilgrimage by British Monarchs throughout the centuries. Indeed, Tain was to become Scotland's first Royal Burgh.
At the weekend, pilgrims were able to view a replica of the Papal Bull in its original silver frame at the Tain Museum beside the church, and to buy copies of the rare Vatican document written in Latin, and now translated into English, Gaelic, and several European languages for visitors to the museum.
Following the Mass, the pilgrims sang hymns during their procession through Tain, as they walked in the glorious sunshine to the ruins of the Old St. Duthac's Church in the cemetery overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Afterwards they all gathered for a buffet and refreshments hosted by St. Vincent’s Church in Tain.
Archbishop Mario Conti thanked all those who made the Highland Deanery Pilgrimage to Tain, and he thanked in a particular way the Royal Burgh of Tain and the Pilgrimage Centre and Museum for their hospitality.
RC Diocese of Aberdeen Charitable Trust. A registered Scottish Charity Number SC005122.