Anthony Ross

Fr Ian Anthony Ross (14 June 1917 – 24 May 1993) was a Scottish born Catholic priest and member of The Order of Preachers (Dominican). He was also a noted broadcaster, writer, community activist, educator and antiquarian who served as Rector of the University of Edinburgh (1979–1982). Early life Born near Beauly, Inverness-shire, Scotland, Anthony Ross was brought up Free Presbyterian, attending school in Beauly and then Inverness Royal Academy. He won an award to Edinburgh University, where he edited his first book at the age of twenty-two. On converting to Catholicism while an undergraduate, he was cut off financially by his family. He entered the Order of Preachers (Dominican Order, Blackfriars, Ordo Praedicatorum) as a novice in 1939 at Woodchester, Gloucestershire in 1939, made his profession on 19 October 1940, and was ordained priest on 29 September 1945. An autobiography, The Root of The Matter: Boyhood, Manhood & God, (Mainstream 1989), deals with his early life prior to joining the Order of Preachers. Career After obtaining his lectorate he returned to Edinburgh in 1947 to begin postgraduate studies on the Order in Scotland after the Reformation. However, in 1950 he was assigned to teach at Hawkesyard. He was elected Prior of Woodchester a year later and then in 1954 went to Laxton Hall where he was a popular teacher. Returning to Edinburgh in 1959, he exerted wide influence throughout Scotland. Fr Ross was a pivotal figure in setting up a number of important and radical initiatives in Edinburgh to deal with the problem of homelessness in the late 1960s and 1970s, notably The Skippers Cafe in the Cowgate and The Edinburgh Cyrenians. He was the founder of The Innes Review and of the Scottish Catholic Historical Association and vice-chairman of the Parole Board for Scotland. In this latter role he was a key figure in the establishment and development of the Special Unit at HM Prison Barlinnie in Glasgow. In 1979 he was elected Rector of the University of Edinburgh. Later life In 1982, he was elected Provincial, but six months later suffered a stroke. He bore the limitations on his activities with patience, re-learning to speak and to write. In 1988, he published an autobiography. He died peacefully at Blairgowrie, near Perth, aged 78, with 52 years of profession and 47 years of priesthood.