POPE Leo XIV met some very important Scottish visitors at the Vatican recently in the shape of Missio Scotland’s National Director, Fr Vincent Lockhart, and our schools’ mascot Missy Moo!

WHEN a man decides to take up his vocation and become a priest it’s expected of him that he will become a Good Shepherd in the parishes in which he serves. However, for Bishop Joseph Toal, in the very early days of his priesthood, that took on a literal as well as a spiritual meaning!

“AS A missionary priest I had three fears at the start of my ministry. One was that I would be sent to India as I found the culture and the religion so complex and I thought that it might be too much of a challenge for me. Another was that I had a fear of flying so I wanted to keep that to a minimum. And the last fear I had was ever having to stand up and teach. As it turned out I had to do all three! The miracle, I suppose is that I came to love India, flying and teaching.”