by Jim McKendrick

Born in Montreal, Canada, on 7th April, 1802, James Gillis was the only son of a Scottish father and an English mother. His father was a native of Fochabers. Gillis was educated at the Sulpician College in Montreal, where he acquired a perfect knowledge of French, which stood him in good stead all his life.

In 1816, he came to Scotland with his family, and the following year began training for the priesthood; first in Scotland, then in Paris and at Issy. He was ordained as a priest on 9th June 1827, and was based at Edinburgh, where his preaching soon attracted large crowds. He visited France in 1829 to collect money for St Mary’s church in the city, and later to raise funds for the foundation of the Ursulines of Jesus Convent, St Margaret’s; the first religious house established in Scotland since the sixteenth century.