Catholic retreat held in Perth
From left, Shirley Toole, UCM national treasurer, Pauline Porter, UCM national president, Bishop Stephen Robson, Bishop of Dunkeld, and Florence Reid, UCM national secretary at the retreat in St Mary’s Monastery. Picture by Andrew Mitchell Catholic worshippers from all over Scotland travelled to Perth this week to celebrate women in religion.
St Mary’s Monastery in Kinnoull was the venue for the Union of Catholic Mothers’ Scotland’s annual retreat, and more than 100 union members travelled from all over Scotland to take part.
The theme for this year’s retreat was “Women of the Passion”, and was led by Bishop Stephen Robson, who is the Bishop of Dunkeld and the episcopal director and spiritual advisor of the retreat.
Over the course of the annual gathering, the congregation looked at women who were healed by Jesus physically and spiritually, ordinary women who followed Jesus because he gave them a new vision and new hope, and looked at the life and role of Jesus’s mother Mary.
Bishop Robson gave a second talk, concentrating on three more women from the Passion, Mary of Magdala, Mary of Bethany, and the unnamed women who anointed Jesus before his crucifixion.
Pauline Porter, national president of the Union of Catholic Mothers’ Scotland and herself a parishioner at Our Lady’s RC Church in Perth, said: “The retreat was very inspirational for the members of the UCM because like the women of the Passion they too are women united together by the faith in Our Lord, Jesus Christ.”