May 2011 - Archdiocese of Glasgow

FLOURISH • MAY 2011 CATHEDRAL RE-OPENING
15
Capturing intensity of Ogilvie’s martyrdom
AN INSPIRING depiction
of St John Ogilvie, Scotland’s
only canonised
martyr, hangs in the
newly created Blessed
Sacrament Chapel of St
Andrew’s Cathedral.
It is the work of Peter Howson
who described the finished
painting as “a window
into prayer”.
Indeed, set in a magnificent
gold arched frame, it blends
with the gothic arch windows
all around this restored house
of prayer.
Renowned for his penetrating
insight into the human
condition, Howson’s art is familiar
for capturing the harshness
of life – even the
grotesque brutality of war and
violence.
The Martyrdom of St John
Ogilvie is different.
“It is not my usual blood
and guts stuff,” he explained.
“It is very peaceful.
“I hope people will pray
through the painting. It is like
a window to prayer – an
image of devotion, a window
to God.”
A young Jesuit priest, John
Ogilvie was hanged at Glasgow
Cross – a few hundred
yards from the Cathedral – in
1615, after he was arrested for
saying Mass and tried for treason.
He was canonised in
1976.
The completed painting
shows the saint standing
alone, lit from behind by turbulent
clouds, with the rope
around his neck, his hands –
more often clenched angrily in
Mr Howson’s works – are
clasped in prayer.
Above the painting, a radiant
burst of light contains the
familiar Jesuit acronym IHS,
Iesus Hominum Salvator –
Jesus, Saviour of Man.
The artist expressed his
hope that through the painting
people will heal wounds. To
illustrate his point, he revealed:
“A Protestant friend of
mine said he felt very serene
standing in front of it.”
The original intention was
for a vast crowd scene depicting
the execution at Glasgow
Cross.
“I only had two or three
drawings of John Oglivie to
go on, but I read a lot of books
and documents without overdoing
it,” the artist explained.
“I started off by drawing
and trying to get through to
the man himself, who also
seemed to have been witty and
humorous. I also had moments
of spiritual insight and inspiration
which helped me a lot
with the work.”
Archbishop Conti, who
commissioned the piece, was
drawn to Mr Howson’s work
after a visit to his gallery.
Viewing the finished artwork,
he said: “It is a painting
of great intensity which will
not only be highly regarded as
a work of art, but will also be
an aid to prayer and reflection,
which, is after all, its primary
function.
“The intention is to engage
Archbishop Conti
thanks Peter Howson
Picture by Paul McSherry
spiritually with someone who
for his faith was prepared to
go to the gallows. It shows
John Ogilvie just before the
noose is tightened, revealing
both the heroism, but also the
sadness of the occasion.”
The Archbishop added: “I
know Peter agonised greatly
in completing the commission.
Only he could have delivered
such a powerful but
also prayerful canvas and we
are immensely grateful to him
for his work.”
CHURCH’S GRADUAL RECOVERY
The martyrdom of St John
Ogilvie at Glasgow Cross in
1615 marked a defining
moment in the life of the
Catholic Church in Glasgow.
With his death, any hopes
of the diminishing
community of adherents
being allowed to practice
their faith were snuffed out.
During a brief respite in
the reign of King James VII
(1680-88), an attempt was
made to open a chapel in
Glasgow for the estimated 50
Catholics in the area. It was
another century before such
a goal could be considered
seriously.
The onset of the Highland
clearances, in the wake of
the ill-fated Jacobite Rising
of 1745, saw the number of
Catholics slowly increase in
the central Lowlands. In
time, the trickle would grow
into a stream as Irish
labourers too came to work
in the emerging weaving and
cotton industries.
It was in the house of one
of the Highland immigrants,
Donald MacDonald, a combmaker,
that a regular
meeting place was
established sometime in the
1770s at Bell’s Wynd, just off
High Street.
Mass was also celebrated
in the house of Robert
Bagnall who ran a pottery
business at the east end of
the Gallowgate in Tureen
Street.
Bagnall had come to
Glasgow from England in
1770 but quit the city after
the anti-Catholic riots of
1879. His son, Thomas Peter,
was ordained in 1795 –
becoming the first Glasgowborn
priest in over 200
years.
At this time, priests would
come occasionally to
Glasgow, travelling from
Edinburgh or more usually
Drummond Castle, near
Crieff.
Glasgow’s first resident
priest was Alexander
MacDonnell from Glengarry
in Lochaber. He arrived in
1792 to minister to the
needs of his fellow
Highlanders who had settled
in the east end of the city. He
rented a hall on Mitchell
Street where Mass could be
offered.
A new spirit of tolerance
towards Catholicism was
emerging from the political
establishment, exemplified
by the 1793 passing into law
of the Scottish Catholic
Relief Bill.
In 1797, a new chapel was
erected at Boarhead Lane in
the Gallowgate to serve the
mission which was now
overseen by Fr John
Farquharson. The building
resembled a house, but it
provided for the spiritual needs
of the ever expanding Catholic
population until St Andrew’s
opened its doors in 1816.
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