Charles Grant
(Western District) Born in Glenlivet, 26th November 1806, the son of Alexander Grant and Catherine Stewart; arrived in Valladolid from Aquhorties; left for Scotland, 4th May 1829, and ordained a priest there; died in Glasgow, 19th April 1837. (MT)
Obituary of Charles Grant, from the Scottish Catholic Directory of 1838.
Died, on the 19th April, at Glasgow, in the thirty-first year of his age, the Rev. Charles Grant, one of the Catholic clergymen in that city. The Catholic Congregation of Glasgow has sustained a heavy loss in this most valuable Missionary, who, after a few days’ illness, was cut off by a malignant fever supposed to have been caught in the discharge of his laborious duties of charity, while administering the last consolations of religion to the sick and the dying. Mr Grant was born at Coolinduim, in the Braes of Glenlivat, Banffshire. At an early age he was sent to the College of Aquhorties, whence he proceeded, in 1826, to the Scottish College of Valladolid. Having finished his studies, he returned home in 1829; and was, in November following, ordained Priest at Glasgow, where he was employed till his death, in the assiduous discharge of all the arduous duties of a faithful and zealous pastor of souls.
On Monday the 24th April, his funeral obsequies were performed with great solemnity in the Catholic Chapel of Glasgow. Long before the hour appointed, an immense crowd had collected in front of the Chapel; and, shortly after the doors were thrown open, the spacious edifice was filled in every part, and such was the anxiety manifested by all classes, that hundreds, eager to find admittance, were disappointed. The interior appearance of the Chapel was most solemn and imposing. The coffin, containing the remains of the deceased, lay on a platform immediately in front of the altar, surmounted by the sacerdotal insignia, with a number of wax lights burning around. The galleries, covered as they were with sable hangings, harmonized well with the sublime but mournful appearance of the altar; and the effect was greatly heightened by the dress and demeanour of the many hundreds who occupied the centre of the Church, every one of whom wore mournings, and seemed deeply sensible of the loss they had sustained by the death of a beloved pastor.
About twelve o’clock, the Right Rev. Dr Murdoch, wearing a white mitre, and preceded by a number of clergymen, entered the Church, and commenced a solemn Mass of Requiem. The order and solemnity maintained by the officiating clergymen at the altar—the devotional attitude of the assembled worshippers, who all knelt in silent and fervent prayer — the music, which was most appropriate, and executed with a taste and precision we have never heard excelled — all tended to render the service most strikingly affecting. Bishop Scott, attended by four Priests, knelt during Mass at a little distance from the bier, on the Gospel side of the altar.
After Mass, the Rev. William Gordon came forward to the front of the platform, and, standing by the coffin, pronounced an eloquent eulogium on the deceased, of which we do not pretend to give even an outline. He stated that he had been a fellow-student of Mr Grant, and could bear testimony to his great talents, to his proficiency in his studies, and, above all, to the spotless purity and sanctity of his life during his early years. From the day of his arrival in Glasgow, continued the Rev. orator, to that of his death, Mr Grant needed no encomium from him, as the entire body of the Catholics in this city had witnessed the zeal with which he had laboured in the work of the ministry. The evil-doers whom he had reclaimed, the virtuous whom he had encouraged amidst their trials, the youth whom he had instructed, the poor whom he had fed and clothed, and, in particular, the orphans for whose temporal and spiritual welfare he had signally exerted himself, these could tell how holy and meritorious had been the life and conversation of his departed friend arid brother. By ceaseless and over exertion, his constitution was prematurely exhausted, and he fell a victim to his charity and zeal for the flock intrusted to his charge. Mr Gordon concluded in a strain of impassioned eloquence, by exhorting all present to take a salutary warning from the mournful spectacle before them, and to lead such lives as might give them courage to meet the stroke of death with a Christian confidence in the mercies of their God.
At the close of the discourse a written communication from Dr Scott was handed to the preacher, and by him read, in which his Lordship affectingly condoled with the Congregation on the loss which he and they had sustained; briefly but feelingly eulogized Mr Grant, recommended him to the prayers of the Faithful, and begged all present to join in imploring the Almighty to grant health and strength to their surviving pastors.
The usual prayers and ceremonies of aspersion and incensation were next gone through, after which the bishops and clergy returned to the vestry, and preparations were immediately made for the funeral procession. While the coffin was slowly carried down the passage the scene was touching in the extreme, and told more in behalf of the reverend deceased than a thousand funeral orations. The multitude in the galleries and in the aisles (for those in the centre had already taken their stations on the street) seemed overpowered with grief. The tears rolled down every cheek, and simultaneously a deep and hollow sigh was heaved from every breast, as if for the last farewell to a parent, a brother, a dear and affectionate friend.
The funeral, which was the most numerous ever seen in Glasgow, then moved from the Chapel to the Cathedral Burying Ground. The hearse, drawn by six horses, was preceded by a body of the Congregation selected for the purpose, and followed by Bishop Scott and Bishop Murdoch, the Catholic clergymen of the city and neighbourhood, &c. The line of procession was admirably kept by the Police, under the orders of Captain Millar, so that no accident or interruption occurred, though the streets were everywhere densely crowded. The whole ceremony, in short, both in the Church and out of it, owing to the admirable arrangements that had been made, was conducted with the order and decorum so becoming on such an affecting occasion.
A large plate on the coffin bore the following inscription;