Two Scots priests have flown half way round the world to conduct a wedding.
Father Roddy McAuley, star of the BBC2 hit show An Island Parish, made the 10,000 mile journey to Australia with fellow priest Father David Connor.
They were flown out by former parishioner Paddy MacPherson because he wanted his favourite priests to conduct his daughter’s wedding. Fr Roddy from Caol and Fr David from Lochgilphead turned it into a working holiday and job swapped with the priest at Paddy’s Catholic church in Perth, Western Australia.
Former construction company owner Paddy emigrated from Fort William more than 40 years ago.
“When my daughter Laura announced she was getting married I persuaded her only our local priest back home would do,” he says.
“And we asked Fr David Connor from Lochgilphead to come along, too.
“The guests were stunned, especially when Fr Roddy piped Laura and husband Dan out of the church after the ceremony.”
The wedding took place in April and the priests returned to their Highland parishes last week after a month in the Australian sunshine. Fr Roddy said: “It’s the furthest I’ve travelled to conduct a wedding, The ceremony, with 160 guests was wonderful and they loved it when I piped the couple out of the church to the strains of Marie’s Wedding.”
Fr Connor said: “You could call it a working holiday from heaven.
“The temperature didn’t fall below 25C.”
Laura, 26, says: “I hadn’t met Fr McAuley until he arrived just before the wedding.
“He’s a star and my friends all want him to come back and conduct their weddings.”
Paddy says the cost of the wedding would have kept a small European country solvent. “But who’s counting when your only daughter gets married,” he laughed.
Back in Caol, Aussie Fr Aloysius Leong settled in to his Highland parish.
“I couldn’t believe it when I got to the church house,” he smiled.
“The window looks on to Ben Nevis. The view is stunning, but your weather is something else!”
Do you have a great wedding story to tell us? Call 0141 567 2776 or email jboyle@sundaypost.com
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