Black Isle congregation bids farewell to bishop as he finally retires aged 87
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Parishioners bid farewell at a special service held in a Black Isle church for a bishop as he finally retires from the priesthood aged 87.
Emeritus Bishop Peter Moran previously served the Roman Catholic diocese of Aberdeen which takes in Inverness-shire, Ross-shire, Caithness, Sutherland and Orkney Isles and Shetland Isles, along with Aberdeenshire, Banff and Buchan and Moray.
Since retiring from that role 11 years ago, he has lived in Fortrose and helped the parishes of the diocese when needed.
A farewell mass took place at the church of St. Peter and St. Boniface in Fortrose, to mark his retirement as he leaves the Highlands to move to Aberdeen.
He will be closer to his sister, Elizabeth Moran, a religious sister and nun, who left Fortrose for a care home in Aberdeen several weeks ago.
Bishop Peter was a parish priest in Inverurie before being ordained as Bishop of Aberdeen in December 2003 until his retirement in June 2011.
He was a great linguist, speaking several languages and regularly gave mass in French in Aberdeen for medics and oil industry workers and their families.
As a result of his knowledge of languages, he met a Polish bishop who confirmed to him that in Poland, there were more priests than churches.
Two weeks later, Bishop Peter visited Poland to began his crusade to encourage and welcome Polish priests to the Aberdeen diocese to minister to the growing Polish population which had settled in the north of Scotland.
Although he continued to help parishes following his retirement, he gave up driving a few years ago which restricted his movements to only the more local parishes.
He lived in the Chapel House at Cathedral Square, beside this church of St. Peter and St. Boniface in Fortrose, directly across from the Fortrose Cathedral ruins.
An avid reader of books and newspapers, he also listened to the radio but found the TV to be a distraction to his clear thought process.
He helped edit several publications including the Black Isle community magazine, The Chatterbox, when invited.
Although he and his sister will be greatly missed in and around Fortrose, he is looking forward to the next chapter of his busy life as an established octogenarian in Aberdeen.
