The former Catholic Bishop of Aberdeen, the Right Reverend Peter Moran, has died at the age of 91.

The Diocese of Aberdeen announced that Bishop Emeritus Moran died on Friday morning at Northcote Lodge Care Home in Aberdeen, where he had lived in recent years.

He led the diocese for nearly eight years, serving from his ordination as bishop in December 2003 until his retirement in August 2011.

Paying tribute, his successor Bishop Hugh Gilbert described him as "one of the most genuinely humble men I have ever met".

"He was a priest to his fingertips, utterly dedicated to his vocation and to the service of the Church," Bishop Hugh said.

"He was a man of immense gifts, but he wore them lightly. He was loved and respected as a priest and bishop, and he will be remembered with enormous affection by his family, fellow priests, former students and so many people whose lives he touched."

Born in Glasgow in April 1935, Bishop Moran was educated at St Aloysius' College before studying in Rome at the Pontifical Scots College and the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Following his ordination as a priest in 1959, he served in parishes in Whiteinch and Partick in Glasgow before spending more than two decades teaching at Blairs College, near Aberdeen, from 1964 to 1986.

He later served as parish priest in Blairs and Inverurie, and was appointed a Canon of St Mary's Cathedral in Aberdeen in 1995. Following Archbishop Mario Conti's move to Glasgow in 2002, he acted as diocesan administrator before being appointed bishop the following year.

An accomplished classical scholar fluent in French, Italian and Spanish, Bishop Moran co-founded Aberdeen's French-speaking Catholic community.

Outside of his ministry, he was a keen pianist, built and sailed boats, and had a deep appreciation for Doric language and poetry.

During his time as bishop, he was closely involved with the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf), ecumenical relations, and served as Bishop Promoter for the Apostleship of the Sea, the Church's ministry to seafarers.

He is survived by his three sisters, including Columban Sister Elizabeth Moran, who also lived at Northcote Lodge Care Home.

The diocese said funeral arrangements would be announced in due course.