St. Margaret's RC Church - Recent History

St. Margaret's RC Memorial Church

Dunfermline, Fife

As a consequence of the 1939-45 War in Europe there was an influx of displaced persons into the British Isles from the European Continent. Many of these were Roman Catholics. The largest of these exiled groups were the Poles who formed a Polish Government in Exile supported by an army, navy and airforce. These Polish exiles were almost entirely Roman Catholic. Just as St Margaret had come from Eastern Europe for political reasons in the 11th Century so these Eastern European exiles came to Scotland. At least two thousand members of the Polish armed forces were billeted in Dunfermline District between 1939 and 1945. Father Bohanski, the spiritual leader of the Polish Community, regularly conducted Mass in St Margaret's Church. Many Polish servicemen decided to settle in Scotland after the war rather than return to a country now ruled by a communist government hostile to religious belief. These men now worked in local industries and in various professions, took local brides and brought up families in Dunfermline.

"This new community was fervently religious with a strange mother tongue, new religious feasts and customs, mournful and stirring hymns and particularly beautiful Christmas carols. Devotion was also paid to quite different saints through exotic-looking icons; all in sharp contrast to the predominantly Irish influence within the parish. A good friend to the Poles during the war and in later years was the parish priest, Father Delaney. Whatever the request from the Polish community Father Delaney was always helpful and responsive. When he was later honoured as Monsignor Delaney in St Margaret's Church the Polish community was well represented .... ".

Polish teachers who taught in the school often helped interpret for Polish children with no English who arrived from refugee camps in Europe. The school roll of those years and to this day is a rich international cocktail of Scots, Irish, Italian, Swiss and Polish names; the universal church in microcosm.

In 1962 Monsignor Delaney celebrated his Golden Jubilee in the priesthood. He had served St Margaret's Catholics for nearly thirty years. He died in Dunfermline in July 1965. In the same year Father Patrick Lynch was appointed Parish Priest. During his period of office there took place the most radical change in the Catholic Church's history since the Reformation, four hundred years before. This was the Ecumenical movement.

It began in earnest with the Second Vatican Council called by Pope John XXIII in 1963. Councils were the way in which the church had developed its identity from earliest times. The Council of Jerusalem called by St James in the 1st Century had settled the problem of circumcision of non-Jews; the Council of Nicaea in the 4th century had established a definitive Creed; the council of Trent had responded vigorously to the challenges of the Reformers. Now in the 20th Century, after four hundred years of counter-Reformation apologetics, a new era of dialogue and healing had begun.

In December 1967 Sunday Mass was broadcast from St Margaret's Dunfermline by BBC television. A new age in the apostolic mission of the Church had dawned. This broadcast was followed by an evening transmission of "Songs of Praise", a programme which still reaches a wide ecumenical audience. Father Lynch pronounced the final blessing.

From 1974 onwards the Pilgrimage of St Margaret had to be held in Carfin because the football ground was no longer available. In 1976 Father Lynch carried out major alterations to the sanctuary to facilitate the new liturgy. The altar was repositioned so that mass could be said facing the people. The altar rails were removed and a marble lectern acquired to emphasise the importance of scriptural readings. Microphones were introduced so that the services, now in the vernacular could be heard distinctly rather than followed in translation from a missal by the congregation as in the past. Further extensions to the Church followed in the form of a Lady chapel and additional sacristy.

The year 1982 saw internationalism and ecumenism in the Church in Scotland receive enormous encouragement and confirmation in the historic visit of the first Polish Pope, John Paul II to Scotland. Scotland's Christians, Catholics and Protestants alike, welcomed him and warmed to his recognition of their country's commitment to Christianity. (Pope Paul VI had created the first resident Scottish Cardinal since the Reformation, Gordon Joseph Gray, Archbishop ofSt Andrews and Edinburgh.) Groups from every parish in Scotland attended huge gatherings in Glasgow and Edinburgh. St Margaret's was no exception. Her pilgrims were invigorated and prepared for the increased responsibilities which were to be heaped upon Lay Church members in the years to come.

Father Lynch now Canon Lynch, a humble, pious man who took a lively interest in the town's affairs and was held in great affection by both Catholics and non-Catholics, ,was honoured in 1984 by having a street named after him: Canon Lynch Court. He became ill and died in November 1984. It fell to his successor, Father John Urquhart, to consolidate and develop the postVatican II ethos embraced by Canon Lynch.

He commissioned a beautiful carved wooden altarpiece (see right) for the Lady Chapel from Steven Foster, a young London artist. Central to the work is an image of the Virgin and child. In the foreground is a scene of St Margaret washing the feet of a poor woman. In the background are Malcolm Canmore's Tower and the Abbey. The work, though contemporary, deliberately uses cramped, unrealistic perspective and the figure of the Virgin is deeply reverential recalling works by the late medieval Italian painter, Duccio.

In 1987 he organised the long overdue Dedication of the church to the service of God. The Dedication was carried out by Archbishop Keith Patrick O'Brien on the 16th September, the anniversary of St Margaret's canonisation in 1249. Civic dignitaries were invited to join other guests who had links with the Parish. The Kirkin'of the Council was held in St Margaret's

for the first time in that same year and church and council exchanged gifts. The council's gift hangs in the Church Porch. It is a print of Sir Noel Paton' s painting of St Margaret instructing Malcolm Canmore.

Father Urquhart had established a Liturgy Committee to ensure that parishioners not only participated in but came to understand the full implications of liturgical rites. His great gift was his love of music and it was in this aspect of the liturgy that he contributed most memorably to the life of the Parish. An organ fit at long last to grace the beautiful organ gallery of the Memorial Church was loaned on a long term basis at this time. The instrument was built in 1872 by one of the best of the 19th century organ builders, G M Holdich, whose magnum opus was the organ at Lichfield Cathedral. Restored to its original specification by Renshaw, the organ was installed in St. Margaret's in 1988.

Father Urquhart encouraged congregational singing. Hymnals containing both old and new hymns, many of the new ones being modern adaptations of the psalms, were acquired. The congregation was led by a choir. An instrumental group with a vocalist was also established. Father Urquhart composed music for use in the Services. On the occasion of the Dedication the first performance by the choir of a specially composed anthem, "Worthy is the Blessed Earth" took place. Saint Margaret's owes the exuberance of its music liturgy to a remarkably quiet priest.

The current Parish Priest, Father David Barr succeeded Father Urquhart in 1989.

Parish Pastoral Council