Lochaber man is ordained as Scotland’s newest priest
IT MAY have taken a gap of three decades, but Lochaber native Father Vincent Toal says now was the right time for him to return to his original spiritual calling as a member of the priesthood.
Father Toal, whose family hails from Roy Bridge near Fort William, has just become Scotland’s newest priest.
Father Toal is a younger brother of the Bishop of Motherwell, the Rt Rev Joseph Toal, who was the former Bishop of Argyll and the Isles.
Father Toal, whose mother still lives in Roy Bridge, was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Glasgow in a special ceremony in the city’s cathedral on the evening of March 19, the Feast Day of St Joseph, by Archbishop Philip Tartaglia.
The ceremony was attended by a large number of Father Toal’s family, including his 90-year-old mother, Mary, while his nephew Sean Cameron piped guests into the cathedral and his brother John gave a reading.
Father Toal was actually ordained as a deacon 30 years ago, but only ordained as a priest in last week’s ceremony in Glasgow.
Writing in a recent edition of the Scottish Catholic Observer, Father Toal, who was editor of Flourish, journal of the Archdiocese of Glasgow for 18 years until this time last year, explained how he had drifted away from his original plans to join the priesthood some 30 years ago.
‘I have suggested elsewhere that I took cold feet towards the end of my seminary formation, 30 years ago, and put the brakes on any immediate plans for ordination.
‘It is fair to say that I was both coasting along and drifting away,’ he writes.
‘Outwardly, everything seemed fine; but, inwardly, I was struggling in critical areas of my life, which forced me to question my readiness for ministry as a priest.
‘Working as a journalist within Catholic media, with the responsibility of editing a diocesan newspaper, exposed me to the wealth of church teaching and examples of heroic living out of the Gospel in some very trying circumstances.
‘I reassessed my critical outlook while taking stock of my own life with its inner contradictions.
‘The hypocrisy and ruthless arrogance evident in much of the mainstream secular media stimulated a renewed regard for the enduring message of Christ revealing what is true, good and beautiful - and a fresh desire to contribute more to the “new evangelisation” which successive popes have insisted on.’
Speaking to the Lochaber Times, Father Toal, who is one of nine siblings, said his decision to give up journalism for the priesthood had been based on his feeling that it was now the right time.
‘I felt I was in the right place mentally and spiritually now,’ he explained. And he laughed, adding: ‘It was time to put the collar back on!’
Father Toal said the ordination event in Glasgow had been made extra special by the presence of so many family members and by the fact his brother was involved in his role as Bishop of Motherwell.
‘It was a great day - really joyful and wonderful, made all the better by having family there, including my mother and brother in his role as bishop.’
Now an assistant priest at a parish in the east end of Glasgow, Father Toal has lived away from Lochaber for more than 30 years.
But he added: ‘That being said, I have always considered Lochaber to be my home.’