Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 19/Oct 04:07

Archbishop Gilbert remembered

Archbishop Emeritus Edward Gilbert, the ninth archbishop of TT from 2001 to 2011, passed on October 16. He was 88. The cleric, born in Brooklyn, New York, died at St Alphonsus Villa, a Redemptorist retirement home in Florida after serving the church for more than five decades. Archbishop Gilbert was of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a religious congregation of pontifical right for men dedicated to missionary work targeting the poor – a calling to which he professed in August 1959 being ordained as a priest in 1964. His career between 1965 and 1984 was predominantly one of theological scholarship. After studying canon law for three years, he continued in parish and seminary ministry before becoming a professor of canon law for 14 years and serving as an academic dean for 14 years and seminary rector for six. Prior to his appointment to the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, he served as the eighth Bishop of Roseau, Dominica in the Diocese of Castries from 1994 to 2001. His appointment as TT's archbishop, following the passing of the immensely popular Archbishop Clive Pantin caused ripples in the local priesthood. The Rev Clyde Harvey, now Bishop of Grenada, resigned as chairman of the diocesan clergy executive in protest and threatened to resign as a parish priest. Despite accusations that his appointment was an American recolonisation of the local church, Gilbert piloted the church with respectful, patient assurance during his tenure, choosing to turn the other cheek and be about his pastoral duties, engaging in administrative and pastoral reform within the archdiocese. The official statement from Camsel noted that, "During his episcopal ministry, he strengthened diocesan structures, promoted vocations and fostered deeper collaboration between clergy, [the] religious and laity." His pastoral ministry would influence a young priest, Charles Jason Gordon, whom he would entrust to be vicar of administration as he sought to sow the seeds of priestly vocation in the local church. Gordon, today the Archbishop of Port of Spain, spoke of how Gilbert dealt with the concerns of his appointment, during the early morning mass at the Archbishop's Chapel, on October 17. Gilbert, he said, was distinct from Pantin who had been revered as the "conscience of the nation." But Gilbert, he said, would become the "conscience" of the local church, as it entered a new phase after 32 years of being shepherded by Pantin. Gilbert's leadership would see the local church produce the most bishops from Trinidad in the Antillean Episcopal Conference, Gordon shared. Including himself, he said, as Gilbert witnessed his rise to become first, the Bishop of Bridgetown. In his final years as the leader of the local church, Gilbert became afflicted by illness, which limited him from completing Gordon's ordination in Bridgetown. But his stewardship is recognised for the foundation he laid for a stronger church in TT and the region. As the Roseau Diocese recalled, Gilbert, "taught with clarity and as a Christian, he worked to build the Kingdom with us all." The post Archbishop Gilbert remembered appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.