A Brief History of the Catholic Church in Antigua

In the colonial history of the Caribbean, Antigua is somewhat unique among the islands.  Except for a very brief period, this island has always been an English colony until it acquired its present status as an independent member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.  Consequently, the language, culture and religion of Antigua reflect its long time English connection. The Anglican religion, which was very much a part of the British establishment, was practiced by the vast majority of the colonists, and practically all plantation owners and people who held Government jobs were Anglicans. However, among the plantation owners, there was one significant exception, Countess Masterson, who owned the Blake estate. She was a very fervent Roman Catholic. Since the Catholic Church in Antigua was at that time under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Roseau in Dominica, she was constantly writing him requesting the service of a priest to meet the spiritual needs of the few Catholics in Antigua. The Bishop in Roseau had more than he could handle to look after the needs of a much greater Dominican population, the majority of whom had a background of French colonialism and hence were predominantly Romans Catholic. However, he did appreciate her concern, and once referred to her as the “Mother and Protectress of the abandoned Catholics of Antigua”. .  

Prior to the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 there  were many laws in operation in England which penalized Roman Catholics  who were bold enough to practice their faith publicly.  These laws were, of course, in force also in the Brutish colonies, and hence in Antigua.  For example, it was against the law for Catholics to have their own cemetery or for a Catholic priest to officiate at a burial service in the only cemetery available to them.  Fortunately, those in authority frequently ignored these unjust laws .  When the Bishop of Roseau, for example, paid his first visit to Antigua in 1862, the local governor and the Aznglican bishop  treated him with the utmost respect and deference.  Likewise the local press of the day, undoubtedly controlled by the establishment, frequently gave favorable coverage to Catholic activities.

When slavery was abolished in 1834, it was not long before the British plantation owners realized that they were in difficulty. The freed slaves, with few exceptions, avoided  work on the sugar plantation even though it was now offered with salary.  Such occupation had too many painful memories for them and they would seek for any other kind of work and accepted the harvesting of sugar cane only as a last resort.  In order to save their sugarcane harvest, the plantation owners prevailed upon the British government to allow them to bring to Antigua indentured workers from the Madeira Islands, and within a few years a large number of them arrived in Antigua. These were, of course, all Roman Catholics  and suddenly within a year or two the Catholic population went from a mere handful to several thousand. This prompted Countess Masterson to write the Bishop of Roseau and to remind him that a resident priest was definitely needed now since the Catholic population was no longer a small one.   Many of the Portuguese having completed their term of indenture went on to other places but some stayed behind and still form a significant part of Antigua’s population.  Later a large number of Lebanese and Syrian immigrant arrived, and in more recent years the Catholic population has been enhanced by a large immigration from Dominica and the Dominican Republic  However, in spite of the efforts of Countess Masterson, it was not until 1859 that the first resident Catholic priest came to Antigua, a Father J. Ryan.

Prior to the building of the first Catholic Church in Antigua, two buildings had been used for the dual purpose of housing the resident priest and providing a place for the celebration of Mass and the administration of the Sacraments. These two buildings located on Redcliffe Streeet and North Street are still in use today, but no longer used for Catholic Church purposes.  The first move to build a Catholic Church was made when a piece of land was purchased on what was later to be called Popeshead Street.  It apparently became a gathering place for a somewhat unruly element in St. John’s, and. one of their annual activities was the burning of an effigy of the Pope, probably on Guy Fawkes night.  This less than ecumenical activity was undoubtedly the reason why the street later acquired the name that it still holds.  It is not surprising that the land was later considered unsuitable and sold since it was not considered a suitable place for a Catholic Church.

The appointment of Father Ryan as the first resident priest in Antigua did not solve the problems of caring for the Catholic populations of Antigua.  Father Ryan did not stay very long and for the next forty years priests came, stayed for a short time and the left for a variety of reasons. There were two notable exceptions, Father Gagneux and Father Fogarty.  The former served off and on for twelve years and the latter for eighteen years.  Father Gagneux is remembered especially for bringing to Antigua the first community of Religious Sisters to serve the needs of the Catholic young people of the island, and also for erecting in 1869 the first Catholic Church on the island at the corner of Independence Avenue and Church Street. The second long-serving priest, Father Fogarty, served Antigua well and left behind him a reputation for his outstanding zeal and powerful and zealous preaching ability. He was also responsible for bringing back the community of sisters who had left in 1876, no doubt because of the continued absence of a priest.  In spite of the contribution of these two priests, the spiritual needs of the Catholics in Antigua were frequently unmet until the arrival of the Redemptorists Fathers from Belgium in 1903. This Religious Congregation ensured that there was always a least one priest in Antigua at all times and eventually there were many as the Catholic population was growing and spreading around the island.  One of the first Redemptorist priests was a Father Rabaey .  He found some serious structural weaknesses in the original Church built in 1869.  Furthermore, it was  too small for the growing Catholic population.  So in 1909 on the same site as the old church, a new and bigger one was built which eventually became a pro-Cathedral when the diocese of St. John’s -Basseterre was created in 1971 under the leadership of Most Rev.Joseph Bowers.  During his episcopacy when the supply of Redemptorists priests from Belgium began to dwindle, he obtained the services of priests from the Society of the Divine Word of which he himself was a member. The members of this Society now provide the priests for most of the parishes of the diocese of St. John’s-Basseterre

 When the present bishop, Most Rev. Donald J. Reece, was ordained as the second bishop of the new diocese in 1981, he immediately began plans for a new Cathedral.  The magnificent structure on Michael’s Mount, Holy Family Cathedral, was completed in 1987, and it stands now as concrete evidence of the significant presence of the Roman Catholic Church in Antigua.

No history of the Catholic Church in Antigua would be complete without reference to the wonderful work done by the religious congregations. The Sisters of the Order of the Faithful Virgins were the first to arrive, to be followed by the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Franciscan Sisters, the Presentation Sisters, the Carmelite Sisters and the Sisters of Providence. They have worked mainly in the field of education and in social work. In 1958, the Christian Brothers opened St. Joseph’s Academy to share in the education work of the I.C.M. Sisters who at that time were operating the two Catholic Schools in Antigua, Christ The King School, and Holy Family School The Catholic schools have made a significant contribution not only to young Catholics but also to many children of other denominations since the Catholic schools from their origin were always open to non-Catholics.

While the concentration of people in the urban area of St. John’s provided a sufficient number of Catholics to support a parish, throughout the rest of the island the Catholic population was quite scattered and even in the larger villages there were insufficient Catholics to support a parish of any significant size.  Finally, a decision was made to build a church in Tyrell’s to serve the Catholic population over a very wide range of territory.  While located in Tyrells , the church serves the needs of the few Catholics that live in All Saints, Sweets, and  Liberta. The more distant villages of Buckley’s, Sea View Farms, Freemantle, John Hughes and Falmouth are also served from this parish center in Tyrells. While originally the Church of Our Lady in Tyrells was served from the Cathedral Parish in St. John’s, in 1958 it became an independent parish.  While the Cathedral of the Holy Family and our Lady’s Church in Tyrells represent the two Catholic parishes in Antigua, it should be noted also that small Catholic chapels are found in Potters, Sea View Farm, Parhams, Gray’s Farm-Green Bay. Willikies and Villa.

 For many years the Catholic Church in Antigua has been actively involved in the ecumenical movement among the Christian denominations in the island and participates fully in the Antiguan Christian Council and the Caribbean Council of Churches.

The rise in the Catholic population in Antigua has produced an ever-increasing number of lay organizations associated with the church.  Without a doubt, the St. Vincent de Paul Society is the most outstanding.  Both parishes in Antigua have a branch of this wonderful worldwide Society, and in the Tyrells parish in recent years a Youth Conference of the Society has been formed.  The work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is supp6orted financially by all parishioners and can be considered as the social arm of the Church.  It administers the following worthwhile projects: The Good Shepherd Home for Abused and Abandoned Girls, a Day Care and Activity Center for the Elderly, Counselors and Care for the Elderly, an Adopt-A-Gran Program, a Special Program for relocated Montserratans, and a Training Workshop for those who care for  HIV/AIDS patients. In times of natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, the Society works very closely with similar organizations associated with other churches of the island to ensure maximum assistance to those in need.