15/11/2025
Congratulations to Luisa, the first lay person and first woman to be appointed as General Secretary to the Bishops' Conference of Scotland 🙏
The Bishops of Scotland welcome Luisa Campbell to the office of General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland from February 2026, when Fr. Gerry Maguiness completes his second term of office.
In parallel with her working career, Luisa has been actively involved in the life of the Church in Scotland at both parish and diocesan level in the areas of youth work, parish administration, liturgy, evangelisation, RCIA and finance.
Luisa retired early from work in 2020 to pursue her passion for voluntary work in the Catholic Church.
After gaining Master’s degrees in both Engineering and Business Administration, she worked for almost forty years in industry, ultimately as chief executive of a Scottish business which she led for over two decades. Her roles involved leadership, governance, strategy, commercial finance, mergers and acquisitions and organisational development.
During that time, she also acted as a trustee of several charities, served as a non-executive director and as trustee of a large pension scheme.
Luisa grew up in the diocese of Galloway and has lived in both the archdiocese of Glasgow and the diocese of Aberdeen. Her work has taken her to every diocese in Scotland.
She will be the first member of the lay faithful and first woman to take on the role of General Secretary.
Responding to her invitation from the bishops, Luisa said, ‘I look forward to serving the Bishops of Scotland in my new role as General Secretary, bringing together my experience in the Church and in the world of business.’
Bishop Keenan, President of the Bishops’ Conference said, ‘The bishops are delighted that Luisa has accepted this post and will continue the good work carried on by Fr. Gerry Maguiness over the past years. Luisa brings a wealth of experience both as a committed laywoman in the Church who has served our parishes and dioceses loyally over the years and who also has vast experience of life in the world and where she has made a fruitful contribution. We look forward to working with her in the service of the Church in Scotland in the years ahead’.
The Bishops of Scotland would like to take the opportunity of commending and thanking Fr. Gerry Maguiness for his wise, effective and tireless stewardship of the General Secretariat over the past six years. We wish him similar blessings as he takes up the office of parish priest of St. Bride’s in Cambuslang.
Bishop John Keenan
President, Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.
