Michael Barrett

Born in Daventry, England, in 1848, Michael Barrett later converted to Catholicism in 1870, entered the Benedictine order at Fort Augustus, and was ordained in 1883. He became known as a priest and writer, with early reference works describing him as rector of St. James Church in Buckie, Scotland.

Barrett wrote a steady stream of books on Scottish church history and devotion, including Early Scottish Saints, Scottish Benedictine Houses of the Past, Scottish Cistercian Houses, Footprints of the Ancient Scottish Church, and A Calendar of Scottish Saints. His work helped preserve stories of Scotland’s monasteries, cathedrals, and saints in an accessible way for general readers.

He died in 1924. Remembered as Dom Michael Barrett, O.S.B., he stands out as one of the Benedictine writers who kept interest in Scotland’s medieval religious heritage alive in the early twentieth century.