Dr Bernard Colvin of Dundee has been awarded a Papal Knighthood, Knight of St Gregory the Great, by Pope Francis for his work as Diocesan Doctor in charge of the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes for many years. Bernard Colvin follows in the footsteps of his illustrious grandfather, Dr Thomas Colvin, who had a medical practice in the Gorbals, in being made a Knight of the Order of St Gregory the Great.
At the investiture in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Dundee, on Palm Sunday, Bishop Stephen Robson said: “Bernard has given so much of his time to Lourdes and he thoroughly deserves this award for his devotion, love and care to all in need.”
Growing up on the south- side of Glasgow, Bernard was a pupil at Holyrood Secondary when it opened in 1936. Among his classmates was long-serving Glasgow priest Fr Des Broderick.
His association with Lourdes began in 1953 when, as a medical student at Glasgow University, he joined the Archdiocesan pilgrimage to the French shrine. After becoming an orthopaedic surgeon at Dundee Royal Infirmary, he made his first pilgrimage with the Diocese of Dunkeld in 1974 – the same year as he was appointed Scottish representative for the British Medical Association.
Later, as a member of the Lourdes International Medical Association, Mr Colvin presented information in the case of Italian teenager Delizia Cirolli who visited the shrine on Christmas Eve 1976. Her cure from a lethal tumour on her knee was declared a miracle in 1989 and helped sustain Mr Colvin’s continued involvement in Lourdes with the Dunkeld pilgrimage over the past four decades.
Meanwhile, the family’s medical pedigree – which included Bernard’s father, John, carrying on the Gorbals surgery – extends to a fourth generation with sons Michael and Bernard both consultant paediatricians. The association with Lourdes also remains strong.