Rev. Fr. Stephen Reilly

 
 

Fr Stephen works as the full-time Co-ordinator of Spiritual and Pastoral Formation at the School of Education at the University of Glasgow.

He was born in Glasgow and grew up in Muirhead. He attended St Barbara’s Primary school in Muirhead, Blairs College, Aberdeen, and Our Lady’s High School in Cumbernauld. After school he went to the Scots College in Rome where he studied for seven years. He is still a regular visitor to Rome, mostly to visit the friends he made through the Scout movement in Santa Chiara parish, and his godson Giovanni.

Fr Stephen served as assistant priest in St Bride’s parish, Bothwell, from 1997-2003, and as chaplain to Cardinal Newman High School in Bellshill from 1998-2003. Highlights for the latter were the many school trips and pilgrimages to World Youth Day in Rome and Canada, Tossa de Mar, and a 100-mile walk across Spain, the Camino de Santiago. He returned and completed the whole Camino in 27 days from the French border in 2003.

In 2003 Fr Stephen moved to St Mary’s, Hamilton as assistant priest to Mgr Alec Devanny, then as administrator after Mgr Devanny’s sad death. He also took up a post of chaplain at Taylor HighS chool in New Stevenston, where he was frequently dragged to concerts by the 6th year pupils: Franz Ferdinand, The Zutons and The Fratellis to name but a few!  Fr Stephen arrived in St Bernadette’s Motherwell in August 2005, moving just across the park from Hamilton. Fr Stephen left his post as chaplain at Taylor High in 2009 and became RE Adviser for Primary schools in the Diocese of Motherwell, and was part of the team which developed the new national RE syllabus for Scotland, This is Our Faith.

His interests include hillwalking and cycling, playing and watching football, travelling and practicing languages, reading, cinema, playing guitar, and live music.

Fr Stephen left St Columbkille’s to be resident in the Cathedral in Motherwell at the start of July 2021.

Parish Clergy

Fr Patrick A. Hennessy
  • Fr Patrick A. Hennessy

  • Retired Priest in residence
  • 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 opti... [read more]
Fr Bernard Mournian
  • Fr Bernard Mournian

  • Parish Priest
  • Rev. Bernard Stephen Mournian was born on 5 April 1988, in Bellshill Maternity Hospital. He was brought up in Hamilton and attended St Mary’s Primary School and Holy Cross High School, both in his hom... [read more]
Rev. Bill McMillan
  • Rev. Bill McMillan

  • Deacon; Chaplain to Rutherglen High School
  • I was born 21st March 1952, in Robroyston, Glasgow. My wife MaryAnn and I have 2 daughters, 3 granddaughters and a grandson. I always knew in my heart that God was calling me to serve the Church in so... [read more]

Parish Support Teams

Parish Office Team
  • Parish Office Team

  • The Parish Office is responsible for a large number of administrative tasks such as: dealing with mail, answering phone calls, keeping records of parish income, paying bills, preparing the weekly Bull... [read more]
Parish House Team
  • Parish House Team

  • Marie Scollen is the Parish Housekeeper who looks after the cooking and cleaning duties necessary in a house which is occupied by 4 clergy members and which also receives a large number of visitors ea... [read more]
Parish Hall Team
  • Parish Hall Team

  • Donald Campbell manages the Parish Hall and deals with bookings for weddings, funerals and community groups' use of the Hall. A number of volunteers assist by providing a cafeteria service each weekd... [read more]
Parish Sacristans
  • Parish Sacristans

  • A number of laypeople support the clergy to ensure that the Church is prepared for Mass each day. Various people contribute time to the various tasks which are necessary: cleaning altar linen, setting... [read more]
Church Fabric
  • Church Fabric

  • A church building like St Columbkille's needs to have regular attention paid to its state of repair to ensure that it is kept watertight and safe.  We are always looking for parishioners who are skill... [read more]
Church Cleaners
  • Church Cleaners

  • The Church Cleaning group meet after 10am Mass every Thursday morning to clean the Church: hoovering the carpets, mopping the floor, dusting the pews etc. The work is usually completed by around Noon ... [read more]
Parish Ministries
  • Parish Ministries

  • The life and work of our parish community is enriched by the active ministry of many people who give of their time to enrich our church liturgy in various ways.  Members of these groups are volunteers... [read more]
Parish Groups
  • Parish Groups

  • Over the years in St Columbkille’s parish,  various groups have been established to serve the needs and interests of parishioners.  Some of these groups are affiliated to larger national or diocesan b... [read more]