Honouring their memory

Published by CN Admin at November 23, 2022

Tags

Spiritans, Benedictines, Cluny Sisters, Carmelites and Holy Faith Sisters

Final of a three-part series for November by Donna-Kay Kissoon, Archdiocesan Archives. Collaborators: Office of the Vicar for Clergy, Abbot John Pereira OSB, Fr Ronald Mendes CSSp, Sr Roberta O’Flaherty CHF, Sr Katrina Charles O Carm, Sr Maureen Alexander SJC

Many customs arose over time with regards to the celebration of All Souls’ Day. We have heard of the devotion begun by the Abbot of Cluny which was adopted by the Benedictines, Carthusians and the whole Church. And that almsgiving and works of penance are commended.

In the year 1748, Pope Benedict XIV, approved a custom which started in Spain of secular priests celebrating two Masses and regular priests, three. In 1791, Pope Clement XIII granted that “all altars on the day of the Solemn Commemoration should be privileged.” We read about this in the Apostolic Constitution Incruentum Altaris by Pope Benedict XV on August 10, 1915, who granted all priests the privilege of celebrating three Masses on All Souls’ Day – one for a particular intention, another for all the faithful departed, and a third for the intentions of the Holy Father.

The Pope wrote this during the time of World War I, perhaps because we needed as a Church to also pray for bodies that were not found, unrecognisable or too many for individual burial.

Today, in continuity with his predecessors, Pope Francis encourages us to maintain the same act of mercy, of charity, for our brothers and sisters who have departed from this world so that they may enter and share in the heavenly banquet prepared for them by Our Lord.

It was 1836 when Bishop MacDonnell – 2nd Vicar Apostolic –invited the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny to come from France to Trinidad and establish a convent school.

In 1863, two Holy Ghost Fathers arrived in Trinidad from France and began the establishment of St Mary’s College.

Fleeing religious persecution, the Benedictines came to Trinidad in 1912 under the leadership of Dom Mayeul de Caigny and founded the Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. How thankful we are for their dedicated service in the formation of men for the priesthood at the establishment of our seminary by Archbishop Finbar Ryan in 1943.

Over 100 years ago, three Corpus Christi Carmelite Sisters came from England at the request of Archbishop Dowling to assist with the care of a hospice for the sick and elderly, and in 1947, Sisters of the Holy Faith came from Ireland at the invitation of Archbishop Ryan to help with the ever-increasing education work in the Archdiocese.

Throughout the many years of ministry in the Archdiocese of Port of Spain many clergy, religious men and women have dedicated their lives to the service of Almighty God and the advancement of His Kingdom.

Over these three weeks, space allowed us to only name a few but our prayers and gratitude are with them all, known or unknown, listed, or unlisted, who served for a specific period and returned home or who have died here.

We honour their memory and remember them in prayer.

Holy Ghost Fathers (CSSp)

Priests of the last 50 years are buried at Lapeyrouse Cemetery.

Fr L J Graf 15.1.1970
Fr K Devenish 9.4.1974
Fr Timothy Corcoran 10.3.1975
Fr Michael Finnegan 23.8.1975
Fr Thomas Curtain 21.10.1978
Fr Ivan Galt 1.4.1981
Fr F Irwin Ibrahim 15.7.1983
Fr C Valdez 7.6.1990
Fr Montes De Oca 3.1.1991
Fr M O Dwyer 8.12.1996
Fr P Nicholson 23.4.2006
Fr P Forde 30.4.2006
Fr C Ward 9.10.2006
Fr P Howard 4.12.2012
Fr N Rodriguez 1.2.2013
Fr A Cockburn 28.2.2013
Fr A Lai Fook 19.4.2013
Fr K Knox 9.9.2013
Fr L M de Verteuil 5.1.2014
Fr G E Farfan 28.1.2014
Fr G A Pantin 23.6.2014
Fr Sydney Chang 23.3.2019
Fr H Seignoret 29.8.2020
Bishop Malcolm Galt 16.10.2022
Fr Peter de la Bastide 28.10.2022

Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny (SJC)

There are 178 Sisters buried in our Archdiocese. The following lists those buried from the 1990s.

Sr Gabriel Johnston 13.8.1991
Sr Genevieve Cockburn 25.9.1994
Sr Mary P Fletcher 29.3.1995
Sr Mary de Verteuil 23.8.1997
Sr Zite Cipriani 12.12.1997
Sr Helen de Verteuil 21.4.1998
Sr Catherine Monteil 15.2.2000
Sr M Joseph Gavin 4.4.2000
Sr Magdalen Mathieu 26.8.2001
Sr Monica Agostini 1.3.2002
Sr Francis Quesnel 16.7.2003
Sr Maura McGuire 27.8.2003
Sr Columba Carthy 3.8.2004
Sr Francis Xavier Urich 15.10.2004
Sr Agnes Valdez 6.2.2005
Sr Pauline Colomba 20.4.2005
Sr Teresa Ramirez 24.9.2005
Sr M Goretti Cherebin 28.8.2006
Sr Una Doyle 31.12.2007
Sr Anne Abrams 26.7.2008
Sr Philomena Horan 4.10.2010
Sr Jerome Boland 9.11.2010
Sr Theresa Corbie 22.3.2011
Sr M Margaret Moloney 14.3.2012
Sr Jacinta Rigsby 30.7.2013
Sr Paul Sellier 21.8.2013
Sr Eugene Herrera 0.6.2013
Sr Anne Marie Kernahan 1.12.2013
Sr Enda McNamara 7.6.2014
Sr Stanislaus Dwyer 27.11.2014
Sr Emeria Grace 19.11.2014
Sr Aloysius Ashby 19.8.2015
Sr Patricia Ann Douglas 20.5.2015
Sr Sylvia Toulon 21.1.2015
Sr Paul D’Ornellas 18.1.2016
Sr Jean Devenish Huggins 21.6.2016 • Sr Theodore Winter 4.10.2019
Sr Phyllis Wharfe 18.10.2019
Sr Raphael Chandleur 12.3.2020
Sr Dominic Savio Walrond 28.6.2021
Sr Jeanne Williams 30.6.2021
Sr Reina Loe Sack Sioe 1.8.2021

Order of St Benedict (OSB)

Br Vincent Ramirez 20.11.1932
Br Anthony Feldner 8.8.1934
Fr Anselm Romano 12.8.1934
Abbot Mayeul de Caigny 24.4.1939
Br Joseph Kleinmann 21.5.1942
Fr Wilfred Broens 28.5.1943
Fr Charles Verbeke 5.2.1946
Fr Odo Van Der Heijdt 26.12.1946
Fr Sebastian Weber 2.7.1954
Fr Ephraem Slof 20.4.1956
Fr Maurus Maingot 18.6.1959
FrPlacid Ganteaumme 22.10.1961
Fr Simeon Campbell 29.10.1962
Fr Andrew Brugman 2.3.1963
Fr Odilo Van Tongeren 18.5.1971
Br Chrispin Millet 2.12.1972
Br Raphael Goemare 19.3.1974
Fr Martin Van Enschot 30.7.1975
Br Gerard Cotter 12.9.1976
Fr Hugh Van Der Sanden 27.4.1977
Fr John Ev Verdijk 24.6.1977
Fr Anselm Van der Heijdt 3.9.1981
Fr William Boers 29.9.1981
Fr Bede Theunissen 26.12.1981
Br Gabriel Mokveld 18.7.1982
Fr Radboud VD Plas 27.8.1982
Fr Gualbert VD Plas 13.9.1982
Fr Leo Van Leeuwen 31.1.1983
Fr Peter Can Van Stralen 26.3.1984
Br Michael Thomas 11.4.1986
Fr Edward Theunissen 5.7.1989
Fr John Chrys. Lee Sing 10.12.1989
Abbot Bernard Vlaar 27.10.1991
Fr Theodore Koek 20.1.1992
Br Bruno Schrama 22.1.1992
Br Ian St Louis 15.1.1996
Br George Etienne 31.10.1996
Fr Suitbert De Zwart 7.4.1997
Fr Jerome Koot 18.6.1997
Abbot Adelbert Van Duin

12.8.1998

Br Anthony Murray 25.2.1999
Fr Gregory Kloeg 9.6.1999
Fr Ildefons Schroots 28.9.1999
Fr John-Baptist Osborne 4.9.2001
Fr Paul Van Den Eijnden 14.10.2003
Br Camillus Culley 9.12.2003
Fr Francis Friesen 29.1.2006
Br John Cassian D’Arceuil

14.7.2008

Fr Benedict Simons 1.1.2009
Fr Ignatius Oudshoorn 9.12. 2011
Br Joseph Perez 12.5.2012
Abbot Hildebrand Greene 12.3.2013
Fr Odo Van Der Heijdt 2.2.2014
Fr Cuthbert V.D. Sande 28.8.2017
Br Marius Williams 28.8.2022
Fr Augustine Schreurs 7.10.2022

Corpus Christi Carmelite Sisters (O Carm)

Of the 58 Sisters buried at the Mt St Benedict Burial Ground, we list the following of the last 50 years. The foundress, Mother Mary Ellerker of the Blessed Sacrament came in 1934 and established the Mother House of the Congregation. She died on September 1, 1949.