Very Rev. Francis Canon Hamilton —15th March, 1979
CD 1980 p 404

Canon Francis Hamilton, pastor of St. James', Renfrew, 1949-74, died in hospital on 15th March, 1979, in Laconia, New Hampshire, U.S.A., after a short illness.

Born in Rutherglen, on 16th July, 1893, he went as a young man to America and after service with the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I he returned to Scotland to study for the priesthood.  He began his studies in 1919 as one of the first batch of students to enter Campion Hall, Osterley.  He proceeded to St. Peter's College, Bearsden, and was ordained priest in St. Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow, on 29th May, 1926, for Glasgow Archdiocese. He was assistant at St. Augustine's, Langloan, Lanarkshire, 1926-40; St. Joseph's (North Woodside Road), Glasgow, 1940-41; St. Patrick's, Shieldmuir, Lanarkshire, 1941-46.

In 1946, he was appointed parish priest of St. Conval's, Linwood, and three years later he assumed charge of St. James', Renfrew. He was to spend the next twenty-five years of his priesthood in Renfrew before retiring in 1974 through age and infirmity. Shortly afterwards, he went to America to reside with members of his family in Laconia, New Hampshire.

In May, 1976, he celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest. In a special message of congratulations, Bishop Stephen McGill of Paisley said: ‘You have been first, foremost and always a dedicated priest of the Lord in the service of his people.

The priestly spirit which animated you was also shown in your work as diocesan director of the Priests' Eucharistic League, as first diocesan director of the Union of Catholic Mothers and as first director of the diocesan branch of the St. Margaret of Scotland Adoption Society.

The esteem and honour in which you were held was publicly manifested by my venerable predecessor, Bishop Black, when in 1957 he invited you to become a member of the cathedral chapter and one of his trusted advisors-an office, I am glad to say you have continued during my episcopate’.

In expressing his own sentiments to the jubilarian on the same occasion Father Bernard J. Canning who had been assistant with Canon Hamilton for twelve and a half years said Canon Hamilton ‘always displayed a concern for the underprivileged, the down and out, the improvident, in whom he tried to see the suffering Christ as one whose life was beset with almost constant sickness and ill health, he knew how important it was to sympathise with the sick of his parish and beyond it. He was one who appreciated his priesthood. The words of the American poetess Marie L. Weldon on a priest's jubilee could well be applied to Canon Hamilton's sharing of the priesthood of Christ:

Years of intimacy with the Eucharistic King,
Years of growth in love of family and old friends.
Years of welcoming new friends in an ever widening circle,
Years when death of dear ones called forth hidden fortitude,
Years of search and finding Christ in others,
Years when joy outweighed the stress of living,
Years when only the Living Bread brought peace,
Years of loving service to the Lord and to his people.

Vatican II in its decree on the sacred ministry teaches that by their vocation and ordination priests of the New Testament are indeed set apart in a certain sense, within the midst of God's people. For Father Francis Hamilton, the people of God were to be the parishioners of St. Augustine's, Langloan, St. Joseph's (North Woodside Road), Glasgow, in the difficult and hazardous years of World War II, St. Patrick's, Coatbridge, under his illustrious brother Mgr. Alex Hamilton. In 1946, he got a call to serve the people of Renfrewshire, first at St. Conval's, Linwood, and then three years later at St. James', Renfrew.

In Renfrew, he set himself the task not merely of paying off debt, which he effectively did, but of revitalising the parish that had suffered the consequences of World War II. His own personal example of priestly holiness of life was instrumental under the grace of God in bringing his people closer to God. He not only told his people to pray but he showed them the way by his own devotion to Christ in the Eucharist. He was to be seen in the church a half hour each morning before Mass making his daily contact with Christ, and after Mass his equally long thanksgiving gave him additional sustenance for the day ahead. He did this faithfully throughout his long life and at times when he could scarcely walk. The parishioners of Renfrew recall his drive to get them to the monthly holy hour which for him was a special encounter with God.

Completely committed to the people he served, Canon Hamilton was Catholic in every sense:
—He was mission-minded, supporting quietly but, with enthusiasm the Pope's own missionary organisation, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Holy Childhood Society. To St. Peter's Native Clergy Fund he made an annual contribution in thanksgiving for his own priesthood.
—He was a great advocate of the power of the Catholic press and the apostolate of the written word.
—His practical concern for those in need went beyond even the grave in that he would never allow anyone to suffer the stigma or indignity of a pauper's funeral or grave.
—To the rich and poor alike he gave the same consideration.

It has been observed that the training for the priesthood is a long and searching experience. It is not merely that the priest must have the professional knowledge and skill which are necessary in every calling but he must have, moreover, the mind that was in Christ, those lofty ideals, those disinterested ambitions, that burning zeal for Christ, for his Church and for souls. It can be said without fear of contradiction that Canon Hamilton pursued those high ideals to the last day of his life. At his bedside on that last day was an old battered and well-worn book on the priesthood—The Priest's Companion by B. F. Marcetteau, S.S. Canon Hamilton was indeed a priest to the end.

Mgr. Matthew Provost` Kinsella, Vicar-General of Paisley, representing Bishop Stephen McGill, was principal concelebrant of the Requiem Mass with ten priests in St. Raphael's Church, Manchester, New Hampshire. In his opening remarks, Mgr. Kinsella conveyed the condolences of Bishop McGill and expressed appreciation of the work done for the Church in the West of Scotland by the Canon and by his brother Mgr. Alexander Hamilton, late of St. Mary's, Hamilton, Lanarkshire, in giving over 100 years' service to the Church. The Church had reason to be grateful to the Hamilton family.

Bishop Odore Gendron of Manchester (New Hampshire) presided in sanctuary and gave the final absolutions after Mass. Father Bernard J. Canning, former assistant of St. James', Renfrew, delivered the homily and afterwards officiated at the graveside in the family plot in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Bedford, New Hampshire.

The U.S. Army was represented at the funeral in recognition of Canon Hamilton's service with the American Expeditionary Forces in France in World War I. The mahogany casket was draped with the U.S. flag which was subsequently presented to the oldest surviving sister, Miss Catherine Hamilton.