• Welcome to St. Columbkille's Catholic Church Rutherglen

    • Welcome to our parish website which we hope you will find to be informative about our church and the life of our parish community.

    • HISTORY

    • The present church building was opened in 1940 to replace the first St Columbkille's Church which was founded on the same site in 1851.

    • Our Parish Vision

    • We aspire to be a welcoming and faithful Eucharistic community, serving the Lord, spreading the truth of his Gospel, and helping all to respond to God's Universal call to holiness, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

    • St Columbkille's from on high

Fr Patrick A. Hennessy

Fr Patrick A. Hennessy - Parish Priest
 
 
Fr Patrick A. Hennessy - Parish Priest

It is a real joy to be a priest in Scotland and if I may quote the great Karl Rahner: "May something of His Light find it’s way to your people through the cracked and dusty pains of my tiny lantern."

I was born in rural Ireland in 1945. I went to local schools and then wondered what I would do on life’s journey. I was encouraged to consider a number of options, among them being the remote option of being a priest. I was encouraged by family and friends to offer my services. I was accepted and I was ordained priest in 1969.My first assignment was for five years here in St Columbkille’s and then on to St. James, Coatbridge, Langbank and Blairs (both colleges) and then back to Our Lady’s and St. Anne’s, Hamilton for two years.

Responding to the need for priests in South America, I was allowed to join the St. James Society and spend ten years in Peru. I was assigned to a mainly mountain parish at a  time of much change in the country. Two Polish Capuchins were killed in 1990 in the neighbouring parish.

Returning to Scotland in 1999 I was invited to go to St. Vincent de Paul Parish in East Kilbride and I spent ten very happy years there.  Then it was back to St. Columbkille’s in 2010, where it all started. My dream for this great parish is to further build community where so much work has been done by past generations.

On 1st June 2020, Bishop Toal agreed to my request to retire, having reached the age of 75.   I was delighted that he also agreed to me remaining in residence in St Columbkille’s where I will be happy to support Fr Bernard Mournian as our new Parish Priest.