Polish incomers swell Good Friday congregations in city

MEMBERS of the Capital's Polish community helped swell numbers at services held across the city yesterday to mark Good Friday.

Hundreds gathered for mass at St Mary's Cathedral for services held in both English and Polish.

In recent years, the cathedral has employed a number of Polish priests in an attempt to reach out to new parishioners arriving from eastern Europe.

Yesterday, Father Tadeusz Puton conducted mass for several hundred Poles shortly after the day's main English ceremony.

It was standing room only as the faithful packed in to mark the day of Christ's crucifixion.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland, was among those present.

He said Good Friday services in the Capital always led to a huge turnout.

"That's invariably the case for Good Friday," he said. "The Poles will have their own mass today but the rest is all Scots and some other visitors from around the world."

There are now four Polish priests in Edinburgh.

Every Sunday there are two Polish masses at St Mary's, each drawing about 1000 people.

In 2006, the Catholic Church in Scotland said its dwindling congregation had been bolstered by as many as 50,000 Polish immigrants.

Church officials reported an influx of thousands of new worshippers since Poland and other east European states joined the EU in 2004.

About 20,000 Poles now live in Edinburgh, and many of them are boosting church membership in the Capital.

Thousands more, including Slovaks and Slovenians, are attending mass in the Highlands and Aberdeen.

The Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh has teamed up with the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) to ensure Polish workers are not being exploited by their employers.

At St Mary's yesterday, a series of tributes had been left to Monsignor David Gemmell, who died suddenly after watching Celtic play Barcelona in Spain early this month.

Hundreds of mourners packed St Mary's for the funeral of a popular priest last week.

Among pictures of the priest drawn by schoolchildren were many tributes. One read "You were the best person I ever met", and another said "Dear God, please will you look after Father David."

Monsignor Gemmell was found dead in his hotel room. He had been watching the Glasgow club's Champions League match in Barcelona on March 4 the previous evening.

Parishioners, friends and family were shocked by the death of the 54-year-old, who had a history of heart trouble.

He took unwell after a meal with fellow priest, Father Hugh Purcell, and was found dead the following morning.

Monsignor Gemmell had recently accompanied Cardinal O'Brien on an official visit to China, Vietnam and Hong Kong.