David Livingstone, the greatest African explorer, always told the story that he only escaped from the dye works at Blantyre because a Catholic priest taught him Latin. This enabled him to qualify for medicine at Glasgow University. The priest was Daniel Gallagher, an Irishman who, after studies in Rome, held the first Roman Catholic services in the West End of Glasgow in 1855. He opened this little church in Partick Bridge St in 1858 calling it St Peter’s. It is the third oldest Catholic church in Glasgow (after the Cathedral and St Mary’s in the East End).

By the turn of the century the majority of the population had “crossed the tracks” and in 1903 a new St Peter’s was opened in Hyndland St. The Partick Bridge St building served as an extension until the Second World War when soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces who had escaped the Nazis and who were based in Yorkhill Barracks needed a church. Since then the building has been known in Glasgow as the Polish Church. It was the focus of the Polish community in exile and still today the Sunday 11am and 6.30pm Mass are said in Polish by a Polish priest from the chaplaincy in the Polish Club in Kelvingrove.

In 1945 with the increase in the city’s population the Archdiocese decided to create a separate parish for the Yorkhill side of Dumbarton Road and the church became St Simon’s, the original name of the Apostle Peter. Since then the older housing has been comprehensively demolished but the church was refurbished by Fr Patrick Tierney who was a church historian who had been brought up himself in the area. Now with new housing planned from the church’s front door through to Glasgow Harbour St Simon’s looks forward both to preserving its heritage and to welcoming the new residents.