Abbé Paul MacPherson, was a Catholic clergyman who became the first Scottish secular priest appointed rector of the Scots College, Rome.
Born
March 1756
Died
November 24, 1846
Overview
Paul McPherson (4 March 1756 – 24 November 1846), the first secular Scottish priest to be rector of the Scots College, Rome.
Life
He was born in Scalan, Aberdeenshire on 4 March 1756.
At the age of thirteen, he travelled to the Scots College in Rome to study for the priesthood. Owing to illness he was sent to Royal Scots College, Valladolid in Spain where he was ordained on Easter Monday 1779.
In 1793, he was nominated as agent of the Scottish mission to Rome and in August he left Scotland to take up his duties.
In 1801, a Papal Decree recognised the right of the British colleges to appoint national superiors, McPherson became the first rector of the Scots College Rome from the ranks of the Scottish secular clergy.
