Archbishop of Glasgow on ‘year of joy and sorrow’

THE ARCHBISHOP of Glasgow Philip Tartaglia has reflected on a “year of joy and sorrow” for the city in his New Year message as he prepares to oversee the funeral of three of the victims.

Philip Tartaglia will preside at the funeral of three victims.

A service for student Erin McQuade, 18, and her grandparents Jack, 68, and Lorraine Sweeney, 69, all from Dumbarton, is to be held at the town’s St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Parish Church on Saturday.

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He previously told a service in honour of the victims of last week’s George Square crash that he had wept together with Jacqueline McQuade, who saw her teenage daughter Erin and parents Jack and Lorraine die “almost right in front of her”.

Archbishop Tartaglia said tragedies such as the fatal bin lorry accident and last year’s Clutha disaster had cast a shadow but there had also been “positive and inspiring” moments of light during the Commonwealth Games and independence referendum.

He said in his message: “Alas we begin this new year in the shadow of death. Yet as we look back and look forward we must also recall more positive and inspiring moments.”

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