The former leader of the Catholic Church in Glasgow died this evening in hospital, the Archdiocese has confirmed.
Archbishop Mario died peacefully tonight, 8th November, after a short illness at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. He was 88 years old. He had been a priest for 64 years and a bishop for 45 years.
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Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti was Archbishop of Glasgow from 2002 to 2012.
He was much loved by the Italian community in Scotland and became a reference point for them.
Shortly after being named Archbishop he was granted the title Grande Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana by the President of the country for his distinguished service.
At the time of his death he had been preparing to welcome a delegation from the Tuscan city of Barga (from which his forebears came) who were due to present him this month with a special honour from the nearby city of Lucca.
The death of Archbishop Mario will be felt not just in the Archdiocese of Glasgow, but across Scotland and beyond. He was a much-loved figure, a man of great energy and pastoral zeal, who loved the Church and loved the people in his care.
When I was appointed Archbishop earlier this year I found him both gracious and welcoming and full of ideas and suggestions for the future – Archbishop, William Nolan.
Born in 1934, in Elgin, the former Archbishop studied for the priesthood at The Scots College, Rome and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Aberdeen in 1958.
He was appointed bishop of Aberdeen on 28 February 1977 and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa by the University of Aberdeen in 1989 – the first Catholic priest to be so honoured since the Reformation.
Although born in Elgin, Moray, Scotland, the Archbishop had family from this area in nearby Fosciandora.
Over the last 20 years he was an often visitor to Barga
Mario Joseph Conti was the Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of the Metropolitan see of Glasgow, Scotland. He held the following honours: Commendatore nell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, 1981. Honorary D.D. (University of Aberdeen), 1989. Honorary D.D (University of Glasgow), 2010 Knight Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem Rhodes and Malta, 1991; Principal Chaplain to the British Association of the Order of Malta, 1995-2000. Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Honorary Professor of Theology at the University of Aberdeen, 2002 Grande Ufficiale della Stella della Solidarieta’ Italiana.