Croy man will step in to run the Archdiocese of Glasgow on day to day basis

The passing of the archbishop has seen rules come into play set down by the church’s code of canon law - which means that a so-called Diocesan Administrator is appointed.

He is Monsignor Hugh Canon Bradley who had previously served as Vicar General - and who is a former pupil of Our Lady’s High School and was ordained to the priesthood in 1989 by the late Cardinal Winning at Holy Cross parish.

Currently a parish priest in another Holy Cross - in Crosshill - Monsignor Hugh is a graduate of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and Strathclyde University.

An archdiocesan spokesperson explained: “Mgr Hugh, having made the required Profession of Faith, now assumes day-to-day control of the functioning of the Archdiocese until the Holy Father, Pope Francis, names a new Archbishop of Glasgow.

“He has a wealth of administrative experience, having served as an official at the Congregation for Catholic Education at the Vatican, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, and latterly as Vicar General of the Archdiocese.

Mgr Hugh said: “We are all still stunned and sorrowing following the sudden death of our archbishop

“We will have to prepare his funeral in the difficult circumstances of the current health emergency and in conjunction with his family .

“We hold him and them in affection and prayer at this difficult time.

“I will carry out that task to the best of my abilities, and I ask for the prayers of the clergy, religious and laity of the archdiocese in so doing.”