News & Events

Annual Aberdeen Diocesan Pilgrimage to Pluscarden: Sunday 29 July 2025

To describe this year’s annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Pluscarden, much of what was said in these pages about the 2024 event could almost be repeated. The format remained the same; the Feast was the same (SS. Peter and Paul, 29 June), the place, the Mass time (3.00 p.m.) and many of the people were the same: Bishop, clergy, monks, people! We had two large marquees as before, and Choirs as before, and Exposition before the Mass as before, and a Marian procession after it, as before, and (as before) many volunteers involved in the organisation, which all went extremely well. Nevertheless, this 2025 event certainly merits its own description, for it was marvellous

Bread Alone

Recently during lunch times the Pluscarden community has listened to a book about Ultra-Processed Food.

The conclusions of this book are rather alarming.

It seems that a lot of what we eat contains ultra-processed ingredients which are, or may be, by and large, harmful. That is: these ingredients are (or may be) harmful to health, to the environment, to the global economy, to the poor.

The War in Ukraine Comes to Pluscarden

The war in Ukraine was brought somehow more immediately close to the Pluscarden community recently through the moving testimony of a Ukranian guest. 

Anastasia Rozdolska is a 28 year old medical doctor who was with us in late May this year: enjoying a Scottish and Pilgrim break from her work on the front line of the war.

Visit of Br. Guy Consolmagno S.J.

The Pluscarden community was pleased to have the honour of welcoming Br. Guy Consolmagno S.J. recently. Br. Guy is a prolific writer, and the famous Director of the Vatican Observatory. Some years ago we read in the refectory his book (published 2000) "Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist."