[5] After completing his primary schooling at St Thomas', Riddrie, he began his secondary education at St. Mungo's Academy, Glasgow.

[3] On 30 June 1975, Tartaglia was ordained to the Catholic priesthood at the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Dennistoun by Thomas Winning, the Archbishop of Glasgow at the time.

After obtaining his STD degree two years later, on the Council of Trent's teaching on the Eucharist, he received his first pastoral assignment as assistant priest at Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardonald.

Mario Conti, the Archbishop of Glasgow, served as the principal consecrator, with Raymond Leo Burke and Mone being co-consecrators.

He stated, "Unfortunately, in our times, the minds of many have been so darkened by hubris and by the selfish pursuit of their own gratification that they have lost sight of the natural law which God has written into his creation...".

[8] He reiterated this stance in 2010, when he wrote to David Cameron to insist that "the Catholic Church will not register civil partnerships nor celebrate same-sex unions: not now, not in the future, not ever, no matter what legislation or regulations your government enacts or endorses.

[12] Arguing his belief that "over two-thirds" of Scots are actually Christians, and that the proportion of people who work in the media does not reflect this, he wrote that this led to a "fundamental disconnection between the provider and the consumer".

He went on to imply that the connection was being avoided, saying "... nobody said anything ... and why his body should just shut down at that age, obviously he could have had a disease which would have killed anyone, but you seem to hear so many stories about this kind of thing, but society won't address it".

[18] Cairns's partner Dermot Kehoe criticised Tartaglia for making a claim which was contradicted by the medical evidence, and for adding to the grief suffered by the family of the deceased.

This addition alludes to the fact that Philip Tartaglia is a Glaswegian by birth, that he is a former pupil of St Mungo's Academy and is an ordained priest of the Archdiocese of Glasgow.

[21] Conforming to heraldic rules, the colours that feature in the arms – green, white and red – correspond to the Italian Tricolour, in reference to the bishop's family origins and to the years spent in Rome at the Pontifical Scots College, first as an undergraduate and post-graduate student, from 1969 to 1980, and ultimately as rector from May 2004 until November 2005, when he was ordained bishop.

[21] Tartaglia's motto, taken from the Latin hymn O Salutaris Hostia by St Thomas Aquinas, is Da Robur, Fer Auxilium ("Thine aid supply, thy strength bestow").