Fr Michael Briody, Parish Priest of Saint Michael’s, Moddiesburn, has been appointed by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland as Vice-President of the recently re-established Scottish Catholic Heritage Commission. Commenting on his appointment, Bishop Joseph Toal, Bishop of Motherwell said: “The Bishops' Conference has agreed that the Catholic Heritage Commission should oversee and encourage the work of preserving our Scottish Catholic Heritage at home and abroad. Fr Briody is a great enthusiast for our precious Catholic Heritage and has always sought to make it better known and appreciated. He has been involved in the Scalan Association for many years and now serves as its president. He has already established a Diocesan Heritage Commission in Motherwell and this committed group has initiated a number of interesting projects within the Diocese.” Bishop Toal added: “An immediate task is to appoint members to the Commission and Fr Briody has written to each Diocesan Bishop asking them to nominate a member to represent their Diocese or Archdiocese on the Commission. I am very grateful to Fr. Michael for the vigour and enthusiasm he has shown for the care of our Scottish Catholic Heritage.” Reacting to his appointment, Fr Briody said: “I am honoured to be asked to take up the task of re-establishing the Scottish Catholic Heritage Commission, and a bit daunted by the prospect. It is a subject which has been important to me since my mother first instilled a love for Scottish Catholic History. It is a huge subject and as the bishops appoint their diocesan representatives, it will become clearer what others understand by Catholic Heritage. “ For me, Catholic Heritage must be about Catholic Faith which centres round the Mass, our great family treasure: where it was celebrated in grandeur or in secret; for whom was it celebrated and what efforts people made to attend it; who celebrated it for them and the lengths to which we have gone, including remembering the part played by our Scots Colleges in Europe, to ensure the continued celebration of the Mass in Scotland.” ----- Biography: Fr Michael Briody Born at St. Francis Maternity home in Govan on 1st April 1954. Attended The Sacred Heart Primary School, Bellshill. Accepted as a candidate for the Priesthood for the Diocese of Motherwell and entered St. Vincent’s College, Langbank in 1965, St. Mary’s, Blairs in 1967 and the Royal Scots College, Valladolid, Spain, in 1971 gaining an STB degree in theology. Ordained, The Sacred Heart Church, Bellshill, 6 July 1977. Appointed: St. Monica’s (Coatbridge ) 1977, St. Bartholomew’s (Coatbridge ) 1978 and St. James’ (Coatbridge ) in 1986, where he served as the chaplain to Columba High School. In 1991 appointed to St. Bride’s, East Kilbride and then appointed administrator of two parishes: St. Clare’s, Easterhouse in 1993, and St. Patrick’s, Coatbridge in 1994. Since 1995 has served as parish priest of St. Michael’s, Moodiesburn. In 2014, at the request of Bishop Joseph Toal, Bishop of Motherwell, established a Diocesan Heritage Commission. Father Briody has previously written a small booklet marking the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. John Ogilvie, and two transcriptions of Scottish Catholic historical documents written by Bishop John Geddes (1735 – 99): his 8,000-word memoirs of the times surrounding Bonnie Prince Charlie’s 1745 Jacobite Uprising and his 69,000-word description of how he saved the Scotch College, Madrid, from extinction, and re-established it in Valladolid. He has given lectures and written pieces on Scottish Catholic History, particularly about the Penal Times (1560-1829) and especially about Scalan, the secret seminary in the Braes of Glenlivet (1716-99), which can still be visited today. Fr Briody is also President of the Scalan Association and President of the San Ambrosio Society, the association of former students and staff of the Scots College in Spain.
