THE archbishop who has temporarily replaced Cardinal Keith O'Brien told a congregation in Edinburgh the whole church in Scotland shares their "pain and dismay .

Archbishop of Glasgow Philip Tartaglia told the Cardinal's former congregation at St Mary's Cathedral he understood the archdiocese was in "a state of shock for the loss of its shepherd" and that he wanted to give them "new hope".

Cardinal O'Brien resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh on Monday following claims, which he contests, of inappropriate behaviour towards fellow priests in the 1980s.

Archbishop Tartaglia was made apostolic administrator of the archdiocese on Wednesday by Pope Benedict XVI, one of the 85-year-old's last acts as pontiff.

Addressing the congregation in the capital yesterday just hours before the Pope formally stood down, Archbishop Tartaglia said: "I am glad to be with you today, even if I wished, very much wished, that the circumstances were other than they are.

"I appreciate this archdiocese is in a state of shock for the loss of its shepherd. Let me assure you that I and the whole church in Scotland share your pain and dismay.

"On Tuesday evening, I celebrated a Lenten station mass in a church in Glasgow and the mood of the congregation was sombre for what had happened. I felt I needed to encourage them and try to give them new hope. And I would like to try to give you hope too by asking you to focus your gaze on Jesus Christ who is alone our saviour and our good shepherd."

Around 100 parishioners attended the lunchtime mass, many more than usual for a daytime midweek service.

The archbishop was flanked by two other bishops – Stephen Robson, the current auxiliary bishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh who will act as his delegate in the day-to-day running of the diocese, and Bishop Ian Murray, the retired bishop of Argyll and the Isles – as well as eight priests.

Archbishop Tartaglia stressed he was not taking over as archbishop but simply overseeing the diocese until a successor to Cardinal O'Brien was appointed, saying "we must all pray continuously for the appointment of a new archbishop, for which intention I offer this Mass".

He said he did not know how long that process would take – the new Pope could leave the post vacant for months – but he said: "I hope and pray along with you that it will not be too long".

The archbishop added: "The apostolic administrator does what has to be done but doesn't produce new initiatives which will commit his successor. So it is a humble act of service and administration.

"While I hold that office, I promise I will do my best, with the help of God, to oversee and govern this archdiocese."

The archbishop paid tribute to the outgoing Pope, saying it was "a truly unique day for our church" and that "the church bells of Rome will ring out across the eternal city" to mark the Pope's departure.

He said: "We cannot but admire Benedict's spiritual courage, which was clear throughout his pontificate and which helped him to do things which surprised everyone, not least to visit the UK in very unpromising circumstances."

After the Mass, members of the congregation said they had been reassured by the archbishop's words.

Parishioner Andrew Tissera said: "There's a phrase in the Bible that nothing can stop the church. We don't depend on human beings. We appreciate the humility of Archbishop Tartaglia."

Cardinal O'Brien, who was Britain's most senior Catholic churchman, will not travel to Rome for the conclave to elect the next Pope.

He had been due to step down this month when he turns 75 but retired early after it was reported three priests and a former priest had complained to the Papal Nuncio Antonio Mennini's office about alleged inappropriate behaviour by him in the 1980s.