The Pope has been asked to give his blessing to the Declaration of Arbroath’s 700th anniversary celebrations.
As the programme of events to celebrate the seventh centenary gathers pace, a local woman has taken a letter to the Vatican asking the Pontiff to send his greetings to the town.
Myra Rennie and her husband Lindsay were planning to mark their own special anniversary when she had the idea of reminding the current Pope his predecessor, Pope John the XXII received what has become the most famous document in Scottish history, almost seven centuries ago.
Mrs Rennie, who is an early years practitioner, said: “We were celebrating our silver wedding anniversary with a special holiday, which included a trip to Rome and I thought it would be a good idea to write to the Pope, just as the barons of Scotland had done in 1320.
“When we got to the Vatican, I had really wanted to see the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and we ended up in a really long queue but we weren’t sure what it was for as no-one spoke English.
“It turned out to be for an audience with the Pope and although we were just feet away from him, I wasn’t able to hand him the letter, so I posted it in the Vatican.”
Mrs Rennie hopes her letter will help raise awareness of the importance of the Declaration of Arbroath and events surrounding the anniversary.
She said: “It’s surprising that quite a lot of people don’t know about the Declaration and I hope that this helps to bring it to a new generation, especially in schools.”
The move has won the endorsement of Harry Simpson, the chair of the Arbroath 2020 committee, who described it as “a stroke of genius”.
He said: “This is a wonderful idea and I’d like to commend Myra on doing a fantastic job and of course, congratulate the couple on their silver wedding anniversary.
“It’s people like Myra that we want to get involved – it would be amazing if the Pope responded.
“We have had a hugely positive response from abroad, especially from the expat community, with people saying they want to come back to take part in the celebrations.
“The events programme is now on our new website, Arbroath2020.com and more will be added as the plans are finalised.
“Momentum really is building and it is shaping up to be a massive celebration.”
Mrs Rennie’s letter reads:
Your Excellency,
My husband and myself are visiting Rome to celebrate our Silver Wedding.
We thought this would be an excellent opportunity to impose to impose on your generosity regarding another important anniversary.
Our historic town of Arbroath will this coming year, be celebrating a 700 year milestone.
The Declaration of Arbroath, proclaiming Scotland’s emancipation, was signed and sealed at Arbroath Abbey on April 6 1320 and delivered to Pope John XXII.
This document is considered to have such historic significance that is was placed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2016.
This will be a momentous year for our small town and a warm message from yourself would add to the pomp, ceremony and grandeur of our celebrations.
To have a global figure of your influence acknowledge this event, would help showcase our lovely seaside town to the rest of the world.
My husband and myself are not really interested in religion or politics, but we do care greatly about the community we live in.
We just thought ‘when in Rome………..’.
