Bishop Ian Murray (15 December 1932 – 22 January 2016), was a Scottish divine, the ninth Bishop of Argyll & the Isles after the restoration of the hierarchy.

Early life

Ian Murray was born in

Lennoxtown Lennoxtown (, ) is a town in the East Dunbartonshire council area and the historic county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. The Campsie Fells are located to Lennoxtown's north. The town had a population of 4,094 at the 2011 UK census. History The ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

, as the eldest of the four children of John Murray and Margaret Rodgers. He was educated at St Machan's Primary School in Lennoxtown, St Ninian's High School in

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; ; ) is a town and a Burgh of Barony (The Baron of Kirkintilloch) in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. Historically ...

and the National Junior Seminary at St Mary's College in Blairs,

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. His great uncle Paddy Murray was a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for Hibernian and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Priesthood

After Blairs, he completed his ecclesiastical studies at the Royal Scots College (el Real Colegio de los Escoceses),

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

. He was ordained to the Priesthood for the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh in the college chapel on 17 March 1956 by Bishop Joseph McGee. After ordination, Father Murray served at St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, St Kenneth's,

Lochore Lochore is a former mining village in Fife, Scotland. It takes its name from the nearby Loch Ore. It is largely joined to the adjacent villages of Ballingry to the north and Crosshill to the south. Education Most of the children in Lochore go ...

and St Columba's, Edinburgh. Thereafter he returned to Valladolid as Vice-Rector until 1970. On returning to Scotland he was appointed as the Catholic chaplain to the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

where he remained until 1977. He then served at Our Lady & St Bride's,

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

and subsequently at St Ninian's,

Restalrig Restalrig ( ) is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...

. In 1987 Father Murray was appointed Rector of the Royal Scots College in Valladolid. He assisted with the transfer of the College to

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

in 1988 and remained there until his return to Scotland in 1994. On recommencing his work in the Archdiocese he served in

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile in ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

and was appointed

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh.

Episcopate

In 1999, Monsignor Ian Murray was nominated ninth Bishop of Argyll & the Isles by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. He was consecrated by Archbishop Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien on 7 December that year, the feast of St Ambrose, a patron of the Royal Scots College. On 15 December 2008, reaching 75 years of age, in accordance with Canon Law, Bishop Murray submitted his resignation to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, who appointed the Very Reverend Monsignor Joseph Anthony Toal, the Rector of the Royal Scots College, to succeed him as tenth Bishop of Argyll & the Isles. In retirement Bishop Murray lived at St Columba's, Newington, St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, Edinburgh and then, until his death in January 2016, with the Little Sisters of the Poor at St Joseph's House, Gilmore Place, Edinburgh. Following his demise, Requiem Mass was offered for Bishop Murray in the presence of the Metropolitan of St Andrews & Edinburgh and the hierarchy of Scotland at St Columba's Cathedral, Oban on Friday 5 February 2016. On the same day he was buried at Pennyfuir Cemetery alongside his predecessors. Bishop Murray's motto "Obedience gives strength" was taken from the writings of St Teresa of Avila who once wrote, “When I was in Salamanca in 1571 the Lord said to me, 'Daughter, obedience gives strength'”.

External links

Biographical information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Ian Roman Catholic bishops of Argyll and the Isles 1932 births 2016 deaths People from Lennoxtown People educated at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Scotland Alumni of the Royal Scots College People educated at Blairs College