Bishop Emeritus Maurice Taylor, the retired bishop of Galloway and the oldest living Catholic bishop in Great Britain has died at the age of 97. Bishop Taylor, who grew up in Lanarkshire and served in the Army Medical Corps at the end of the Second World War, was ordained in 1950. He was the Rector of the Scots College in Valladolid, Spain from 1965 to 1974. He served on the Episcopal Board of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) and was its chairman from 1997-2002.He was nominated Bishop of Galloway in April 1981 and ordained bishop by Cardinal Gordon Gray on 9 June 1981. He retired in May 2004. He was latterly resident in the Dundonald House Nursing Home in Kilmarnock, where he died on the evening of Wednesday 14 June.
The President of the Bishops’ Conference Bishop Hugh Gilbert said: “I was saddened to learn of the death of Bishop Emeritus Maurice Taylor and offer heartfelt condolences and the promise of my prayers for the repose of his soul to the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Galloway, whom he served so fondly.”
Former Bishop of Galloway and currently Archbishop of Glasgow, Archbishop William Nolan, pictured left, said: “As a young priest in East Kilbride, Bishop Maurice Taylor led a very active and vibrant parish, inspired by Vatican II. As a Bishop he had an energy that few could keep up with and as a retired Bishop he was very active in the diocese until recent years supplying for Clergy . He managed to find time to write four books, which displayed his sharp mind and keen sense of humour. May his soul rest in peace.”