Cardinal Gordon Joseph Gray


1910 - 1993

The first post-Reformation Cardinal to lead the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. Gray was born in Leith and educated at Holy Cross Academy in Edinburgh. Gray entered the priesthood in 1935, was appointed Rector of Blairs College (Aberdeenshire) in 1947 and became Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh in 1951. In 1969, Pope Paul VI appointed him the first Scottish Cardinal since the Reformation. Gray received relics of St. Andrew from Paul VI and brought these to Scotland where they now lie in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh. As a cardinal, Gray took part in both conclaves of 1978, which named the short-lived John Paul I and then John Paul II as Popes. Gray was instrumental in bringing about John Paul II's visit to Scotland in 1982.

Gray lived at the Diocesan Apartments of St. Bennet's in Greenhill Gardens within the Church Hill district of Edinburgh. He was known for his conciliatory and kindly disposition which brought about the greater acceptance of the Roman Catholic faith in Scotland. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Heriot-Watt University in 1981. He died in the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh and lies buried in St. Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral.


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