Len Black
The Reverend Fr Len Black | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leonard Albert Black 19 March 1949 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Edinburgh Theological College |
| Occupation | Priest |
| Ecclesiastical career | |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Church | Scottish Episcopal Church (1973-2011) Roman Catholic Church (2011-) |
| Ordained | 1973 (Anglican priest) 2011 (Catholic priest) |
Congregations served | St Margaret of Scotland, Aberdeen St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee St Michael & All Angels, Inverness St John the Evangelist, Inverness |
Leonard Albert "Len" Black (born 19 March 1949) is a Roman Catholic priest in Scotland and part of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. He was formerly an Anglican priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Early life and education[edit]
Black was born on 19 March 1949.[1] He was educated at the Bernard Gilpin Society, in Durham, England;[2] this was an organisation that helped men achieve the academic qualifications required to study for ordination.[3] He then trained for ordination at the Edinburgh Theological College.[2]
Ordained ministry[edit]
Anglicanism[edit]
Black was ordained in the Scottish Episcopal Church as a deacon in 1972 and as a priest in 1973.[4] He was curate at St Margaret of Scotland, Aberdeen and then chaplain of St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee. From 1977 to 1980 he was priest in charge of St Ninian's, Aberdeen, and then became rector of St Michael & All Angels, Inverness, and St John the Evangelist, Inverness in 1980.
In 1987 Black resigned as rector of St John the Evangelist, Inverness, to take up a part-the appointment as Religious and Community Programmes Producer at Moray Firth Radio [5] in Inverness. He also served as Area Chaplain for Scotland of the Actors Church Union[6] from 1987 to 2003 and Synod Clerk of the Moray, Ross and Caithness from 1992 to 2003. He was Regional Dean for Scotland of Forward in Faith, a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic organisation, from 2001 to 2011. He was Dean of the Moray, Ross and Caithness from 2003 to 2009.[7]
Roman Catholic Church[edit]
He resigned as rector of St Michael and All Angels, Inverness, in March 2011 and, accompanied by a group of lay people, became part of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. They were received into the Catholic Church on Easter Eve 2011, and so Black became a Catholic layman.[8]
Black undertook the Ordinariate Formation for Catholic Priesthood at Allen Hall Seminary in London,[2] and was then ordained priest by Bishop Philip Tartaglia (Archbishop of Glasgow 2012 to 2021) in July 2011. He now serves as senior pastor to the Ordinariate Group in Scotland.[8][9]
During Covid-related lockdowns, Black transformed a shed in his garden in Inverness into "The Oratory of St Joseph" and livestreamed Mass to his small congregation.[10] The shed was shortlisted for "Cuprinol Shed Of The Year".[11]
Author[edit]
Black is also an author, among other books he has written Sir Ninian Comper - Liturgical Architect (1999), The Church that Moved Across the Water (2003) and Churches of the Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness (2004). In 2011 he became part of the editorial team of The Portal magazine,[12] the official monthly magazine of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Personal life[edit]
In 1975, Black married Ruth. Together they have three children; two sons and one daughter.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ Who's Who 2008: London, A & C Black, 2008 ISBN 978-0-7136-8555-8
- ^ a b c d "Black, Rev. Leonard Albert, (born 19 March 1949), Catholic Priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in Scotland, since 2011". Who's Who 2022. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Recollections". Church Times. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
being prepared by the Bernard Gilpin Society in Durham for the academic qualifications required to enter theological training
- ^ Crockford's (London: Church House, 1995) ISBN 0-7151-8088-6
- ^ "Welcome to Vintage MFR". www.vintagemfr.scot.
- ^ "Theatre Chaplaincy UK | Actors Church - St Paul's Church, Covent Garden".
- ^ "Home". The United Diocese of Moray, Ross & Caithness.
- ^ a b "Father Len's Pages - Who?". www.angelforce.scot. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Ordinariate Scotland". www.ordinariate.scot.
- ^ "The Oratory Of St Joseph - Lockdown - Highland #shedoftheyear owned by Father Len Black". Readersheds.co.uk. 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ Henderson, Michelle (2 June 2021). "Inverness priest shortlisted for national award following transformation of garden shed into chapel". Press and Journal. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "The Portal - the on-line magazine of the Personal Ordinariates in the Roman Catholic Church". portalmag.co.uk.