Praying for an unforgettable convert poet
SIR – Having just returned from Orkney, I was delighted to read the feature article on George Mackay Brown (April 15). I was invited to return to Orkney to celebrate Mass in the Catholic church in Kirkwall on the 20th anniversary of George’s death; I presided as Bishop of Aberdeen at his funeral Mass in St Magnus Cathedral on St Magnus’s feast day on April 16, 1996 (considered the first Mass celebrated in the cathedral’s nave since the Scottish Reformation). I concur with Joseph Pearce, the writer of the feature article, that “it would behove us well to discover or rediscover this truly gifted writer”. On the eve of this year’s feast day Alison Gray’s new book on George Mackay Brown was launched in the St Magnus Centre attached to the cathedral. It is entitled No Separation and is published by Gracewing. It will do much both for an academic and a wider readership to fulfil Joseph Pearce’s wish. Yours faithfully, +Mario Conti, Emeritus Archbishop of Glasgow By email
