THREAD: The ignored but beautiful history of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland
Scotland had a Christian presence since at least the 3rd century, brought over by Roman soldiers stationed in the south. While it was not yet fully established, it would've existed in the predominantly Brittonic communities of southern Scotland. [1]
It wouldn't be until the Gaelic missions, spearheaded by the Abbey of Iona, that Scotland would become a Christian land. Saint Columba established a monastery on the island, at the time known as Hii or Hy, and from there he helped to lead the conversion of Scotland.
Saint Columba, pray for us and for the conversion of Scotland!
Iona Abbey would host many more great future saints afterwards, such as Baithéne, Aidan of Lindisfarne, Adomnán and the martyr Indracht.
Saint Columba was not the sole missionary to evangelize in Scotland. Saints Ninian and Mungo are also well known today for their evangelism. The latter is known for his evangelism to the Kingdom of Strathclyde, and Saint Ninian had a focus on converting the Picts.
By the time that Coinneach mac Ailpein An Ferbasach had unified Scotland in 843 AD, the country would've been almost entirely Christian, with little pagan presence. [2]
This time period, however, has not been generous to us in giving us primary sources that describe the state of the Church at the time. Most of what is available on Catholicism was written by monks and largely focuses on monastic life.
The Saltire would have originated around this time though. Popular myth tells us that Saint Andrew appeared to Ă“engus II on the night before a battle with the Angles to tell him to watch out for the sign of Christ's cross. [3]
During the battle, a white saltire appeared in the sky. The only source for this was written in the 15th century, but it's considered by many to be a part of our national history nonetheless.
The fall of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles to the Vikings most likely led to the reintroduction of paganism and a suppression of Catholicism, the former at small-scale however. Contemporary poetry suggests islanders had a familiarity with pagan themes. [4]
The late 13th and 14th centuries are the most romanticized and fondly remembered parts of Scotland's history. This was the time of the Scottish Wars of Independence, and the Church did not stay out of it.
The case for Scottish independence had

King Robert the Bruce, of Braveheart fame, was excommunicated for the murder of John Comyn in a Church, though he was swiftly absolved by a loyal supporter - Bishop Robert Wishart. While he came from a family that traditionally backed...
Bruce's enemy for the throne, John Balliol, Bishop William de Lamberton is also supposed to have supported him, and eventually he crowned him as King of the Scots. While the extent of the role of the infamous William Wallace in the wars is hotly debated, it is known that...
Lamberton was indeed a supporter. Following excommunication; Lambert, Robert and the Community of the Realm sent a series of letters to Pope John XXII. The most famous one is now known as the Declaration of Arbroath, and following it Scotland was able to be reconciled with Rome.
The Reformation followed shortly after, largely led in Scotland by John Knox. The country largely fell to Protestantism by the mid 16th century, though in some isolated areas such as Uist, the Catholic faith continued to survive.
Many Scottish Catholics would flee abroad to avoid persecution, but many stayed at home to continue the faith. Scotland has few known reformation martyrs relative to England, but the most famous is Saint John Ogilvie.
During the 17th and early 18th century, around two thirds of Catholics would've resided in the Highlands, making up a miniscule portion of the overall population.
Catholicism's last hope in this time period came with the Jacobites, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie they were routed at Culloden and with them the Church was doomed for another century...
But only for another century. The Irish famine resulted in a great number of Catholic immigrants coming into Scotland. Facing the same allegations of coming to steal jobs and replace the indigenous population that migrants face today, the Church swiftly reestablished itself.
Between 1848 and 1969, Catholicism was growing at such a rate that some projected Catholics would become majority in Scotland by the turn of the millennium. [5]

It wasn't just the Irish, but Italians and Lithuanians also came, bringing the faith, fish and chips and ice cream.
With the Catholic immigration from these countries coming at such large numbers, the protestant population felt threatened and began to organize against them. With this mutual hatred developed between the communities, and sectarianism was reborn in Scotland.
It's an issue that still plagues Scotland today, but for the most party is restricted to football and politics. And, much to the media's dismay, isn't as big of an issue as they want it to be.
Today there are over 840,000 Catholics in Scotland (2011), making up around 16% of the population. While the Catholic population holds steady, Kirk membership declines rapidly and Catholicism is projected to become the largest single religion in the country.
Bibliography

[1] O. Davies, Celtic Spirituality (Paulist Press, 1999)
[2] G. Markus, "Religious life: early medieval", in M. Lynch, ed., The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001)
[3] W. Bower, Scotichronicon
[4] J. Jensen, "The Norse gods in Scotland" in A. Woolf, ed., Scandinavian Scotland – Twenty Years After (St Andrews: St Andrews University Press),
[5] My priest.
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