The former leader of the Catholic Church in Glasgow is seriously ill in hospital, the Archdiocese has confirmed.

Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti was Archbishop of Glasgow from 2002 to 2012.

In a post on social media, the Archdiocese asked parishioners to pray for the 88-year-old but did not provide any further details.

Born in 1934, in Elgin he studied for the priesthood at The Scots College, Rome and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Aberdeen in 1958.

He also served as parish priest of the most northerly Roman Catholic parish in the British mainland, St Joachim's and St Anne's in Caithness from 1962 to 1977.

The Herald:

He was appointed bishop of Aberdeen on 28 February 1977 and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa by the University of Aberdeen in 1989 - the first Catholic priest to be so honoured since the Reformation.

Bishop Conti succeeded Thomas Winning as Archbishop of Glasgow on January 15 2002.

He oversaw the major renovation of St Andrew's Metropolitan Cathedral in Glasgow between 2009-2011.

The £5m programme was described as the most significant renovation of a Catholic church in Scotland since the Reformation.