His Excellency The Most Reverend Nicola Girasoli, Apostolic Nuncio and Delegate of the Holy See, praying over and preparing the communion at the Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Independence of Barbados recently at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
The Prime Minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart; MPs for the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and the Leader of the Opposition, Barbados Labour Party (BLP), Mia Mottley, in attendance at the Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving.
By:
Patricia Thangaraj
With only days left until Barbados marks the much awaited 50 years of Independence, at least one prominent church leader is calling on all Barbadians to realise that while it is only natural for us to celebrate how far we have come as a nation, it is equally – if not more – important to focus on how we on going to move forward and what we can achieve for the next 50 years.
This point was made clear by The Most Reverend Charles Jason Gordon, the Bishop of Bridgetown, who delivered remarks at the Concluding Rites part of the Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Independence of Barbados recently at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
In fact, he believes that the best is yet to come. “I thank you; for all of us who continue to contribute towards this nation and to say this, that the 50 years that are gone, as great as they have been, as amazing as this country has been against all odds, it is nothing in comparison to what we can do, what we can achieve and what we can become!”
On congratulating the Government and people of Barbados for reaching this milestone, he said that the Catholic Church stands ready to partner with them in continuing to ensure that this island progresses.
“On behalf of the Roman Catholic church, I would like to formally offer my congratulations to the Government, to the parliament, and to the Governor General, on this occasion, the 50th anniversary of Independence, and to say, that we as a church stand ready to work with the nation and with every citizen to build up a civilisation of justice and peace; to work together to ensure harmony… and that we can overcome all of the ancient scourges of division and prejudice.”
Speaking to The Barbados Advocate after the conclusion of the Mass, he said that it is for this reason that they sought to bring together the current leaders of the ruling administration as well as the Opposition Leader to mark this historic occasion.
“The mass is to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Barbados’ Independence. It is bringing the Governor General, the Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, the Opposition Leader, and diplomats together to pray for the country; to give thanks to God for the 50 years that have gone and to pray that we continue to build a great legacy for the coming 50, and it is our way as a church of offering what we have, which is valuable to us, which is prayer and the mass on behalf of the nation.”
Bishop Gordon added that they do masses of thanksgiving for different occasions. So for example, if a couple has been married for 50 years, they will do a mass for them; 50 years of priesthood or 25 years of priesthood etcetera; and because this is such an important occasion for the island, the Catholic Church felt that it was imperative that they do something for the country, to celebrate what they have achieved in the past 40 years and to get the members committed to contributing towards the next 50 years.
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