Welcome to St Brigid's Roman Catholic Church

St Brigid's Church

Welcome to St Brigid's Roman Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Motherwell, Scotland.

St Brigid's is a thriving parish of some 1,600 people, with a proud history in Newmains that stretches back to 1871.

Indeed the chapel/school established here in 1871 is still standing - though it is now a Parish Centre serving the social needs of the whole community.

We became a Parish in 1896 and our present Church was built in 1933. Now we gladly carry the Gospel of Christ into the third millenia.

Visit the heritage section of the website to find out more about the history of St Brigid's.

Words from Father Kelly

 INNOCENTS SUNDAY 

In common with the other Parishes in our Diocese we reflect this week-end on the work and apostolate of the Society of the Innocents. This has come as a result of the encouragement given by Bishop Toal.

The Society grew from proposals at the Diocesan Council of Priests in the early 1970's that as the Church we should be making a positive response in the face of the 1967 Abortion Act. To condemn and criticise the Act is right and just but to respond by offering mothers driven to seek the abortion of their child a place where they might find it possible to let their child live. Since those early days we have seen great changes in society and its attitudes to the sacredness and dignity of every human life. This has led us to the present situation where the call for easier access to abortion and also easier access to the termination of the lives of the elderly when pain and illness deem their lives worthless.

With other pro-life organisations, the Innocents apostolate is to reach out to pregnant mothers in difficulty offering encouragement, support, counselling and material help. They reach out to young people also helping them think about their own lives and attitudes. In recent years they provide a Conference for 3rd/4th year pupils in our High Schools.

Sometimes in the climate we find ourselves in it would seem a thankless task, yet it does provide great joys. We draw strength from the constant support of Pope Francis and our Bishops but the greatest joy is to welcome a new life and to be able to support a new mother. Just recently a BBC programme featured the great work in our local Hospital in caring for weak and prematurely born infants and their parents. This is the anomaly, side by side every week children are denied the chance to live. It is a crazy world with lots of mixed up thinking.

If you could work with the Innocents, the Society would love to hear from you on 01698 262699 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Fr Hugh P Kelly

Parish Prayer to St Brigid

Saint Brigid
You were a woman of peace.
You brought harmony where there was conflict.
You brought light to the darkness.
You brought hope to the downcast.
May the mantle of your peace
cover those who are troubled and anxious,
and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.
Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.
Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary.
Strengthen what is weak within us.
Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.
May we grow each day into greater
wholeness in mind, body and spirit.

Amen

St Brigid's Cross

The Saint Brigid’s cross is a custom that marks the feast day of St. Brigid, which falls on the 1st of February, the beginning of spring.

The making of the cross has many meanings and stories; one ritual is that the cross is hung over the door as a way of protecting the household from evil spirits and energies.

Another tradition that is practiced is that a new cross is made each year on St. Brigid's day, and the old one hanging from the year before is then burned to keep fire from the household.