The historic town of Linlithgow has a long association with Catholicism in Scotland. Although the present church has been in its current position by the side of Linlithgow Loch for a few years more than a century, St Michael has been associated with Linlithgow since the 13^th century. St Michael's Parish church, in the centre of the town next to the remains of Linlithgow Palace, had a long association with the Stuart Kings and Scotland's most famous Queen; Mary Queen of Scots. Mary Queen of Scot's was born in Linlithgow Palace towards the end of 1542 and was baptised in St Michael's Church.

Records of the charter of David 1, in which he gifted not only the church but also "…its chapels and lands, and all other rights belonging thereto…", indicate that even in 1138 St. Michael's R.C. Church of Linlithgow was of considerable size and influence. Indeed, long before 1242 when David de Bernham, Bishop of St. Andrews, officially dedicated this beautiful medieval church it was known as a mother church. Located atop the mound and beside Linlithgow Palace the building stands testimony to the power and influence of pre-Reformation Roman Catholicism. The hierarchy of the Church of St. Michael's Linlithgow did without doubt exert great influence on the daily lives of the population of Scotland although much of this influence was secularised through its links with the Establishment.

Linlithgow Palace and St Michael's Parish Church

However, it must not be forgotten that the church was built by local people as a permanent dedication to the greater glory of God. By the 16th century the R.C. Church was beset on all sides with calls for reform of various degrees of severity. Moderates, justifiably, wanted internal reform to rid the Church of much that was corrupt. One such was Linlithgow priest Ninian Winzet, who courageously stood up to more militant reformers who wished to see an end to Roman influence. Others were much more militant, for example, John Knox "…whose "rascally multitude" desecrated the church of St. Michael's Linlithgow, among others…" . To put it mildly feelings were running high and the outcome was the radical reformation of worship throughout the land.

Roman Catholic worship at St. Michael's ended in 1561 when Patrick Frenche, who had been instated in 1559, was replaced by the Protestant minister Patrick Kinloquhy. It is thought that Patrick Frenche fled the country along with his fellow believer Ninian Winzet who was "…expelled, banished, and shut out of my kindly toun of Linlithgow and my tender friends…" . The post-Reformation era saw Roman Catholicism in disarray and the 1567 Act of Parliament criminalising the saying or hearing of Mass means that there is little record of how the faithful met for worship. It is known that there were travelling priests who must have visited the town but little is recorded until much later when the arrival of large numbers of Irish families highlighted the dearth of religious care in Linlithgow.

Details of Catholicism in the area remain scarce until around the middle of the 19^th Century when, as a consequence of the famine in Ireland, there was a large influx of Irish Catholics to Scotland. Many worked in the farms in and around the Royal Burgh during the spring and summer months. However the development of the Shale Oil industry in West Lothian heralded the development of a permanent Catholic population in the town.