Monsignor Tom Connelly was born in Portobello and was a parishioner of St. Mary Magdalene's parish. He attended St. John's Primary school and then Holy Cross Academy.For almost twenty years he was Press Officer for the Catholic Church in Scotland until his death in 2000. He is the only parishioner who has become a priest and, of course, the parish is proud of him.

The following account of his life was published by the Scottish Media Office on Communication Sunday following his death

Tribute to Monsignor Connelly

The high reputation of the Catholic Media Office with media professionals throughout Scotland is largely the work of one man. Monsignor Tom Connelly, but everyone called him "Father Tom", was Director of the Catholic Media Office from 1981 until his death in October 2000.

Fathe Tom was born in 1933 and after several jobs in industry decided his vocation lay in the priesthood. Although from Portobello he was working, at that time, in east Kilbride within the Diocese of Motherwell. Consequently he offered himself for service in that Diocese.

Ordained in 1962, Fr Tom gave himself totally to everything he undertook and his enthusiasm rubbed off on many of those who became involved with him and his many pastoral initiatives.

He came to national prominence on his appointment as Press Officer to the Bishops' Conference of Scotland in September 1981,just a few months before the announcement that Pope John Paul 11 was to visit Scotland. The Papal visit made Fr Tom a well-known and respected figure among media professionals in Scotland and beyond.

The high international profile which the Scottish Catholic Church has in media circles, in spite of being a relatively small country, is also due to the tireless work of Fr Tom. For over twenty years he was deeply involved in UNDA, the International Association for Catholic Broadcasters. The Vatican recognised his experience by appointing him a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Fr Tom was a big man, with a big heart, a sense of humour, a rich vision of Church and dedicated to his priestly ministry which he saw as including his work with the media. With his death many lost a good friend, the media lost a trusted voice and advocate, and the Church lost a loyal and dedicated priest.

The writer of the pamphlet in response to the theme "Preach from the Rooftops" writes:

I had to smile when I read the theme picked by the Pope for this year's Communication Sunday was "Preach from the Rooftops". I smiled because the Media office of our Bishops' Conference is on the top floor of a building overlooking George Square in Glasgow. Not quite a rooftop, but nearly.

Many people may wonder what happens in the Media Office, Well, most things you read about in newspapers, or hear on the radio, or see on the television about the Church have generally passed through the Media Office.

Religion is not important anymore, some people claim, yet a careful analysis of the media shows that religious and moral issues are never far from the 'news'. Sometimes it may look as though the Church is only reacting to a story or an incident but any comments from the Media Office give us the opportunity to make the Christian view more widely known and at times better explained.

But there is more to the work of the Media Office than dealing with media professionals, important though it is. It may be because this office is one of the first listings in the phone book when you look up 'Catholic Church' that we also get enquiries from all sorts of people about all sorts of things. Times of Masses in the Highlands during summer, how you get married in Rome, trying to track down a parish of baptism, are just some of the many enquiries received in the Office. There are also other enquiries from people who are upset or with personal problems. A listening ear and some pastoral sensitivity is called for in these situations.

So your Catholic Media Office is an Information Service, a public relations office for the Church, the first port of call for many seeking information about the Church and all of that with a pastoral dimension too.

If you want more information about the Catholic Media Office, for example to read the Press Releases issued by the Church, then you may wish to visit our website www.scmo.org.uk or for other enquiries you can e-mail us at info@scmo.org.uk or call us on 0141 221 1168

From these busy offices, looking over the rooftops of Glasgow, the Catholic Media Office serves the Church by givingOUR news to the media.