Every five years each bishop in the world makes a formal visit ''to the thresholds of the 'apostles" - in Latin, Ad limina apostolorum. With the other bishops of his country, (1) he celebrates Mass at the tombs of St Peter and of St Paul, (2) he meets the Pope individually and (3) he visits the Departments (in Vatican language the Congregations and the Pontifical Councils) of the "Civil Service" of the universal Church.

Scotland's eight diocesan bishops, with two retired colleagues, made their visit in early February this year.

Mass in the crypt of die Vatican basilica, where St Peter lies buried, is a privilege and an emotional experience. So, of course, is an individual meeting with the Holy Father!

Pope Benedict spoke English with me. He had an atlas on his desk and when I pointed out Orkney and Shetland he asked how many Catholics there were "in the islands". (About 500 in Shetland and 200 in Orkney, in fact.) I emphasised how small a percentage of the population is Catholic (3%), and how recent migrants had probably doubled that percentage. I was able to introduce to the Pope the two seminarians studying for our diocese.

In each Congregation or Pontifical Council we the Scots bishops (sometimes all of us, more often just three or four) met officials who deal, for example, with Promotion of Christian Unity or with Catholic Education or with Men and Women Religious. Each department had received our reports about these topics in our dioceses, and there was opportunity for detailed exchange of views. We could report successful initiatives or seek advice about problems; the officials could put questions to us or pass on "best practice" working well in other countries. Usually the meeting was chaired by the Prefect (normally a Cardinal), or the Secretary (normally an Archbishop) with up to six "juniors'', clergy or laity. It was encouraging to note that in at least one meeting the Under-Secretary (i.e. No. 3 in the Department) was a lady- appropriately enough, in the Council for Justice and Peace.

The Council for Migrants and Itinerants mentioned not only the 90th anniversary this autumn of the founding (in Glasgow) of the Apostleship of the Sea but young people from other countries studying in Scotland. The Council for Justice and Peace had noticed, and commended, how vigorously the Scottish hierarchy challenges our country's leaders on matters of Justice and Peace, such as the treatment of asylum-seekers, and on matters of Life and Death. The Council for the Laity encouraged us to tap into the spiritual energies of the newer lay movements such as Focolare. At the Council for Communications we discussed rapid advances in media technology but also the challenge for the older and younger generations of understanding each other's thinking patterns. In this Council and also in the Congregation for Divine Worship we dealt with anxieties about forthcoming changes in the texts of the Mass.

These few examples may show how pleasant and useful this high-level visit was.