CARDINAL Keith Patrick O'Brien of St Andrews and Edinburgh has paid a daylong visit to St Columba's High School, Clydebank.
The invitation was made after the cardinal met art teacher Ann-Marie Farren while visiting the link school Olaleni High School in Tanzania. The cardinal came to St Columba's to see what it was doing to raise awareness of the issues facing African schoolchildren and to promote Fairtrade projects ahead of Fairtrade fortnight.
Cardinal O'Brien celebrated two Masses at which some of the chaplains who assisted with the celebrations and other guests with connections to the school were welcomed. He was presented with several gifts from the school, including a £500 cheque for the Scottish International Aid Fund, a Celtic cross made from peat and a welcome cake decorated with the words Assanti Sana Cardinali ("Thank you, cardinal"). The cardinal brought with him a pair of candlesticks from the sister school in Tanzania. These now sit in the refurbished school oratory. He also brought the Blessed Sacrament to the oratory, then blessed and set the room apart for the celebration of Mass, prayer and reflection.