Inverness Parish Priest who made history set to bow out from St Mary's, Inverness
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THE Bishop of Aberdeen will come to Inverness this weekend to celebrate Sunday Mass in St Mary’s Church and mark the retirement of much-loved and respected Parish Priest, Father James Bell.
Or as Fr Bell put it with a chuckle: “He’s here to see me off the premises.”
St Mary’s comes under the Diocese of Aberdeen, and Bishop Hugh Gilbert OSB, will celebrate Mass with Fr Bell acting as a concelebrant.
Glasgow-born Fr Bell (82) made history in 2005 at St Mary’s when he became the first married Catholic priest ordained in Scotland.
The ceremony went ahead after he received special dispensation from the Pope allowing him not to take a vow of celibacy.
He was married to wife Lesley while a priest in the Church of England, but after various concerns with the direction that church was heading, he left and joined the Catholic priesthood.
Fr Bell said: “I have enjoyed my time at St Mary's enormously. It is a marvellous parish and its people are so welcoming and friendly.
“One big difference I have noticed in my 18 years here is that the parish has become much more cosmopolitan and while we have a good number of indigenous worshippers, we also have people from all over the world living here now, with the biggest incoming group being Polish.
“I am not being complacent, but our numbers remain good so we are very fortunate.
“Our Masses are well attended and we have the young people’s liturgy on Sunday, a sort of introduction to our services.”
Sunday’s special service will be followed on August 15 by what Fr Bell called his “swansong” at St Mary’s where he will celebrate Mass before attending a buffet.
“I will be saying goodbye to my parish family,” he said.
Fr Bell is looking forward to not having the quite demanding duties of such a large parish, but added: “I will miss the collegiate nature of the church and the craic you get in a good parish with the parishioners.”
From speaking with Fr Bell, it was obvious too that he will miss also his lovely room overlooking the River Ness.
But while Fr Bell uses retirement to catch up on his reading with wife Lesley at their Edderton home, visiting friends and taking a holiday abroad, he is pleased also that he has been asked to help out at various north churches at times, such as providing holiday cover.
Fr Bell’s assistant at St Mary’s, Fr Laurence Gambella, is to become the new Parish Priest.
Fr Bell was first ordained an Anglican priest in London in 1973 and served as a curate in Lambeth.
He returned to Scotland in the mid-70s where he was a Scottish Episcopal priest in Invergordon, with responsibilities for parishes in Dornoch and Brora.
