 It is customary for the students of Scotus College to go on pilgrimage in the Spring of each year, and it was decided that, for the tenth anniversary of the founding of the College, we should visit Eilean Ban, an island on Loch Morar, near Mallaig, where there had been a seminary for "heather priests" in the early eighteenth century.
The day of the pilgrimage, in March, was bright and sunny, with blue skies; but it was very cold! Loch Morar is dotted with small islands. Eilean Ban is situated in the middle of the Loch and can only be approached by boat. We, therefore, travelled in convoy in two small boats with outboard motors. To ferry the entire party, each boat had to make two trips to and from the island. Those arriving on the island by the second ferryboat were welcomed by the sound of the bagpipes, played by one of our party.
 On the island, we were given some information about the seminary, which had been sacked by the English in 1715, following the First Jacobite Rebellion. Mass was celebrated on the island and there was an almost tangible link between the seminarians and staff, who had populated the island almost three centuries ago, and the modern seminarians and staff, who were on pilgrimage - a link of faith and devotion to the Eucharist across the years.
Archaeological excavations are soon to begin on the island and we wait in eager anticipation to see what they will reveal regarding the seminary and the lifestyle of the seminarians and staff.
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