The restoration was carried out on the instructions of Pope Leo XIII and was one of the first acts of his papacy.
[2] The "old" hierarchy had ended in 1603 when Archbishop Beaton of the Archdiocese of Glasgow died in Paris.
[3] In the intervening period from the Scottish Reformation until the restoration of the hierarchy, Scottish Catholics were ministered to by an underground network of priests (such as Saint John Ogilvie, Martyr) who were overseen by Apostolic prefects and then Apostolic Vicars as the oppression of Catholics became less severe.
[3] The restored hierarchy were members of the Apostolic Vicariate and the territories of the new dioceses and archdioceses were based on the ancient (pre-reformation) ones.
In 1969 Archbishop Gray of St Andrews and Edinburgh was elevated to the rank of Cardinal.