Pope Francis has encouraged a group of trainee priests from the north-east to follow in the footsteps of a Scottish saint born in Keith.
The Holy Father addressed a group of seven seminarians from the diocese of Aberdeen who are studying for priesthood at the Scots College in Rome.
He compelled them to take inspiration from the martyrdom of Moray-born St John Ogilvie, who was put to death because of his Catholic faith 400 years ago last July.
The Scots College was created in Rome the following March, in his memory, and now houses Christopher Doig and Emmet O’Dowd from Inverness and Rafal Szweda from Elgin among its members.
The Pope visited them to celebrate the school’s 400th anniversary, and advised the hopefuls to be “merciful priests”.
The Pope held up St John Ogilvie as an inspirational figure, and model of committed priesthood, saying the seminary was “born of his blood”.
He told them: “The martyrdom of St John Ogilvie, which was meant to silence the Catholic faith, instead was an impetus for its promotion and for defending the Church’s freedom.
“I can see that, through the grace of God, the martyrdom of St John has borne fruit in your beloved homeland.”
The seminarians later presented the Pope with a boxed bottle of Glenlivet whisky, and a quaich.
The single malt was deemed a fitting gift as it is distilled close to the site of a secret seminary at Scalan, in the Braes of Glenlivet.
From 1716 to 1799, about 100 priests were trained at the venue and now, there is a pilgrimage and mass held at the ancient stone house every year.
The seminary is credited with ensuring the survival of Catholicism in Scotland amid growing persecution in the 18th century.
St. John Ogilvie was formally made a saint in 1976, making him the first Scottish saint since the Protestant Reformation of the Church in Britain.
Keith hosted a series of commemorative events last summer to mark the 400th anniversary of his death.
In July, worshippers from far and wide descended on Keith FC’s Kynoch Park for a special mass in his memory, which was led by Archbishop Leo Cushley.
