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THE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF SAINT CECILIA (SCOTLAND)

ACCOUNTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2025

CHARITY NUMBER SC044774

RITSONS

Chartered Accountants 103 High Street Elgin IV30 1EB

The Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia (Scotland) Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 May 2025

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Scottish Charity Number: SC044774

Charity’s principal address

Greyfriars Convent, 15-19 Abbey Street, Elgin 1V30 1DA

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation and has been registered in its current legal form and as a charity from 26 March 2014. The SCIO has a single tier structure and as such the trustees are the only members.

Recruitment and appointment of Trustees

The charity's trusteeship is open to any individual who has been appointed for membership by the Prioress General of the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Charitable purposes

The organisation was established to advance religion. The area within which the organisation shall operate is the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen and those areas in Scotland that request the Sisters’ services. The organisation shall promote its activities and deliver operations to people who are of the Roman Catholic Church or anyone who is interested in the teachings and activities of the Roman Catholic Church.

Activities

The main activites in relation to the charitable purposes were:

« to provide a place of prayer for the general public at Greyfriars Convent and opportunities for structured and unstructured prayer times;
« to provide faith formation opportunities for children by working with Catholic schools to teach religion and pray with the students, and by providing catechesis for parish children at the convent;
« to provide faith formation opportunities for teenagers through involvement in parish and diocesan youth groups and in retreat days and pilgrimages;
« to provide faith formation opportunities for young adults through organising young adult days of reflection, retreats, vocation discernment forums, and by giving talks to young adult groups;
« to provide faith formation opportunities for adults through Bible studies and seminars, talks, parish retreats, days of recollection, and running the diocesan catechist formation programme.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The Sisters welcomed parishioners from St Sylvester's, and anyone else who wished to attend, to come to the Convent for Mass and prayer on a weekly basis. They supported prayer within families through their annual Advent Family Day and Lenten Stations of the Cross.

The Sisters offered five catechesis sessions each week in the Convent for children: one session for children ages 3-6, two sessions for ages 7-9, and two sessions for ages 10-11. The Sisters also supported religious instruction at St Sylvester’s School by leading a weekly prayer group, assisting with monthly school Masses, welcoming various classes to the Convent for religion lessons as arranged by their teachers, and helping to organise two annual prayer events for the whole school. The Sisters led two retreats at the St Michael’s Centre for children preparing for sacraments in the Catholic Church; they also led a retreat day in Aberdeen for Confirmation candidates in three Catholic schools.

The Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia (Scotland)

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Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 May 2025 (continued )

The Sisters led three youth groups in the Convent for secondary school-age young people, with each group meeting fortnightly. They organised various one-day events to bring the three youth groups together and a service event in December when youth group members and their leaders visited care homes and elderly members of the parish to bring some holiday cheer. They organised and led four retreats for young people at St Michael’s Centre in Tomintoul and brought youth to a week-long retreat called Generation Hope at Cairn Brae in Perthshire, a retreat at Ampleforth Abbey in York, and two retreats at Craig Lodge in Dalmally.

The Sisters supported faith formation opportunities for young adults by giving talks to university chaplaincy groups in St Andrew's and Liverpool. The sisters helped to organise and lead preparatory events for a young adult pilgrimage to the Jubilee for Youth in Rome in July/August 2025. They also accompanied a group of young adults from the diocese to the Stronghold Festival at Craig Lodge in Dalmally. The Sisters hosted two retreats for young women at the Convent. Several young women have taken steps to further discern a religious vocation as a result of these retreats.

For adults within the pastoral area of St Sylvester’s, the Sisters: provided three faith formation sessions for those seeking to receive Baptism and other sacraments in the Catholic Church; hosted a monthly coffee morning with time for spiritual reflection; and provided Safeguarding training for new church volunteers. They also gave various talks both on-line and in person to adult groups throughout Scotland. The Sisters hosted the bishop and priests of the diocese for their annual gathering in October.

Through their involvement with the diocesan catechist formation programme (Ogilvie Centre for Catechesis & Evangelisation), the Sisters have helped to support and train catechists and youth ministers in the Diocese of Aberdeen. They led two days for Catechists in Aberdeen, enabling catechists to come together from all parts of the diocese for mutual support and formation. They also mentored a group of volunteers in Inverness who were planning to start a youth group in their parish. They organised seven retreats for adults at Kilcoy Castle, which included two retreats for youth ministers.

The Sisters serve on several church committees at the parish, diocesan and national levels: Bishops’ Conference of Scotland (BCOS) Scottish Catholic Youth Service, BCOS National Synod Team, Ogilvie Centre for Catechesis & Evangelisation, Diocese of Aberdeen Safeguarding Advisory Group, and Synod & Communications Team, and St Sylvester’s Parish Pastoral Council. Having a Sister involved in each of these committees enables our charity to coordinate our activities with those of the wider Catholic Church in Scotland.

Reserves policy

At the period end the charity held unrestricted reserves of £49,036. This level of unrestricted reserves is held for operating costs and arising or unexpected expenses of the convent and the work the sisters undertake.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Trustee

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(¢[ (2/25
Date =
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The Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia (Scotland)

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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees

| report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 May 2025 which are set out on pages 4 to 9.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently | do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
to keep proper accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations;

have not been met, or

to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

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Ritsons
Chartered Accountants
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Independent Examiner

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Date:
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