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Archdiocese of Nassau
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  • Home
  • About
    • The Archdiocese
      • Who We Are
      • Our History
      • Coat of Arms
    • Our Clergy
      • Priests
      • Deacons
    • Offices
      • Vicar General & Tribunal
      • Chancellor
      • Finance
      • Annual Appeal & Stewardship
      • Risk and Property Management
      • Religious Education & RCIA
      • Office of Safe Environments
      • Family Life
      • Youth Ministry
      • Young Adult Ministry
      • Vocations
    • Religious Life
      • St. Martin Monastery
    • Agencies
      • Catholic Board of Education
      • Other Archdiocesan Agencies
    • Other
      • Getting Married in The Bahamas
      • Catholic Cemeteries
  • Our Archbishop
      • Most Rev. Patrick C. Pinder
      • Coat of Arms
      • Office of the Archbishop
  • News, Events & Media
      • Bahama Catholic
      • Archdiocesan News
      • Upcoming Events
      • Crossroads Podcast
  • Giving
      • Ways to Give
      • Catholic Archdiocesan Annual Appeal
  • Synod 2021-2024
      • About the Synod
      • Official Synod Website
    • About
      • The Archdiocese
        • Who We Are
        • Our History
        • Coat of Arms
      • Our Clergy
        • Priests
        • Deacons
      • Offices
        • Vicar General & Tribunal
        • Chancellor
        • Finance
        • Annual Appeal & Stewardship
        • Risk and Property Management
        • Religious Education & RCIA
        • Office of Safe Environments
        • Family Life
        • Youth Ministry
        • Young Adult Ministry
        • Vocations
      • Religious Life
        • St. Martin Monastery
      • Agencies
        • Catholic Board of Education
        • Other Archdiocesan Agencies
      • Other
        • Getting Married in The Bahamas
        • Catholic Cemeteries
  • Our History

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  • The Early Years

    Our mission period formally began in 1837 when the Holy See placed the "Lucayan or Bahama Islands" under the authority of the newly established Vicariate Apostolic of Jamaica.

    In the 19th century, priests who made brief visits, undertook challenging, even life threatening journeys by sea to minister to those early Catholics who endured long periods without the sacraments. Priests of the Diocese of Charleston and the Archdiocese of New York spent several months of the year in these islands to make up for the lack of a resident clergy.

    On July 5, 1960, the Vicariate of the Bahama Islands was raised to the dignity of a Diocese. Paul Leonard Hagarty-- a Benedictine priest of St John's Abbey, Minnesota -- was installed as first Bishop of the Diocese of Nassau.

    In 1981, Lawrence Aloysius Burke, a Jesuit priest native to Jamaica, was appointed Bishop. In 1999, the Diocese of Nassau was elevated to an Archdiocese, the Metropolitan See, whose province includes the Diocese of Hamilton, Bermuda and the Mission of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Bishop Burke was appointed the first Archbishop of Nassau,

    In 2003, Patrick Christopher Pinder was ordained the first Bahamian Bishop.  He served as Auxiliary Bishop and, in the very next year, Bishop Pinder was installed as Archbishop of Nassau.

     

    Upon these rocks

    The rich history of the Catholic Church in The Bahamas was built by missionary zeal and dedication of two Religious Orders:  The Sisters of Charity of Mount St. Vincent-on-the-Hudson, New York and The Benedictine Monks of St. John’s Abbey, Minnesota, U.S.A.

    The work of these early Catholic missionaries in establishing schools, church buildings, clinics, community programmes, and caring for the poor is noted as one of the most significant contributions in the development of Catholicism in The Bahamas today.

     

    Sisters of Charity

    The Sisters came to The Bahamas at a time when black and white poor children were not given the opportunity to obtain an education.  Within days of their arrival, they opened the first free school (St. Francis Xavier) for poor children of all denominations.  This was the birth of the Catholic Education System in The Bahamas.

    The Sisters of Charity were responsible also for establishing medical and prenatal clinics, nurseries and day care centres, including the Madonna Nursery, Infant of Prague Clinic, Maria Clinic, and the Agnes Hardecker Children’s Clinic – each clinic was in a different area of New Providence. 

     

    Benedictines

    Fr. Chrysostom Schreiner, OSB, was the first permanent Catholic priest in The Bahamas.  He arrived in Nassau on February 2, 1891, beginning the permanent priestly ministry here.  As head of the Bahama Mission, he also began the first Out Island mission on Andros on February 25, 1892. 

    The first Benedictine missionaries, mostly German-Americans, were ready to work and serve the Bahama Mission.  They served not only as priests and educators, but took on roles as architects, builders, carpenters, masons, engineers, and event at times doctors and dentists.  

     

    Other Religious Orders and Congregations

        The Scarboros

        Grey Sisters of Pembroke, Ontario, Canada

        Religious Sisters of Mercy of Portland, Maine

        Priests of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

        The Jesuits

        The Passionists

        Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan and Caldwell, New Jersey

        Sisters of St Joseph of Canada

        Franciscan Sisters of Mount St. Clare, Iowa

        Benedictine Sisters of St Martin Monastery, The Bahamas

     

    The Laity

    Catholic Missionaries eventually spread the faith from Grand Bahama in the north, to Turks and Caicos Islands in the south.  The establishment and maintenance of the new missions depended on lay input.  Prior to the establishment of a permanent deaconate in 1970, Out Island Missions were often served by a dedicated band of lay catechists who were trained to offer word services and distribute Holy Communion when no priest was available for long periods. 

     

    Past Bishops 

    The Most Reverend John Bernard Kevenhoerster, O.S.B., D.D., LL.D.

    Appointed Prefect Apostolic of Bahamas:  May 22, 1933

    Vicar Apostolic of The Bahamas:  January 15, 1941

    Died: December 9, 1949

     

    The Most Reverend Paul Leonard Hagarty, O.S.B., D.D., LL.D.

    Appointed Vicar Apostolic:  June 25, 1950

    Appointed First Bishop of Diocese of Nassau:  July 6, 1960

    Died: September 22, 1984

     

    The Most Reverend Lawrence Aloysius Burke, S. J., D.D.

    Appointed Second Bishop of the Diocese of Nassau:  July 17, 1981

    Episcopal Ordination:  October 11, 1981

    Appointed Superior of Turks & Caicos:  June 10, 1984

    Resigned as Superior of Turks & Caicos:  October 17, 1998

    Appointed first Archbishop of the newly erected Archdiocese of Nassau and Metropolitan of the Province of Nassau:  June 22, 1999

    Installation as Archbishop and Establishment of Archdiocese of Nassau:  October 28, 1999

    Appointed fourth Archbishop of Kingston, Jamaica:  February 17, 2004

    Retired:  April 12, 2008

    Died:  January 24, 2010, Archbishop Emeritus of Kingston, Jamaica

     

    Books

    Upon These Rocks  (1973) by Colman Barry, OSB, St. John’s Abbey Press, Collegeville, MN.

    From the Void to the Wonderful:  A History of the Roman Catholic Church in The Bahamas (1995). Patricia Glinton-Meicholas. Guanima Press. 

    Video Documentaries

    • Tell Every Generation, A History of the Catholic Church in the Bahamas - Part 1 (60 min) (1995)
    • Tell Every Generation - A History of the Catholic Church in the Bahamas - Part 2 (30 min) (1996)

     

    Newspapers

    • Bahama Catholic “The Archdiocese of Nassau Celebrates 50th Anniversary: 1960-2010 Golden Jubilee”
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