I was only in Bishop Hugh Gilbert’s presence for a few minutes, but was hugely impressed by him: his gentle kindness, his sheer goodness – perhaps ‘holiness’ is the word I’m reaching for. A man completely at one with himself.
I met the Bishop of Aberdeen briefly when I was at St Mary’s Church in Inverness for a chat with Father Laurence Gambella, priest in charge there since 2023.
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The idea of being ‘one’ – within yourself, with God, with those around you – kept recurring in our conversation.
We spoke about the 2025 Year of Jubilee in the Catholic Church, which Pope Francis inaugurated on Christmas Eve. It’s a time for joy, thankfulness and celebration, a time for pilgrimage, a time, Father Laurence says, ‘to bring people together and celebrate common identity’.
He mentioned his church-centred boyhood in Blackburn, and his visit, age 16 to relatives in Italy. He discovered they were ‘nominal’ Catholics, not regular churchgoers. And so he faced a choice: would he go to Mass like he always did, or stay at home?
St Mary’s church in Inverness.
The decision to go came from somewhere deep, confirming to him the reality of his desire for God. “I wanted to give my whole life to God,” he says. And so, after exploring monasticism (spending two years at Pluscarden Abbey near Elgin) he resolved in St Peter’s Square in Rome on the night Pope John Paul II died to become a priest.
Father Laurence described work as a priest in Blackburn drawing communities together, and the deep study of Islam which enabled him to support and advocate for Muslim people.
He told me the story behind his move to St Mary’s and spoke of his work there: leading together in worship a congregation comprised of folk who’ve been attending for years, people from immigrant communities and many tourists; preserving the good work of his predecessors, while exercising his own specific gifts.
We discussed his work with Christians from other churches, building strong friendships which allow working together where possible (as in the recent ‘Carol Crawl’) while acknowledging where beliefs differ. “We’re all brother and sisters,” he told me.
During the Year of Jubilee, ‘Holy Gates’ are opened in St Peter’s and other churches in Rome. Pilgrims from around the world flock through them. These open doors symbolise Jesus as the open door; and entering them symbolises a commitment to be guided by him.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the gateway to all drawings-together, all oneing: Jesus heals and integrates constantly, and in the end will draw together all that is.
What lies behind Bishop Hugh’s serenity, it seems to me, is his closeness to Jesus. How appropriate that his episcopal motto reads: “All things hold together in him.”