Bishop Nicasio laid to rest

BELIZE

A Funeral Mass was held at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Belmopan on Tuesday, January 9 for Bishop Lawrence Nicasio of Belize City and Belmopan. Bishop Nicasio passed away at his residence in Belize City in the early hours of January 1, after a battle with cancer.

The diocese’s local television station, News Five reported that the Bishop’s funeral had an outpouring of Catholic clergy, religious sisters, faithful, members of the Council of Churches, and government ministers, including Prime Minister John Briceño. Archbishop Kenneth Richards of Kingston, Jamaica, and Bishop Gerard County CSSp of Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines were present.

Chief celebrant Bishop John Persaud of Mandeville, Jamaica conveyed condolences on behalf of the President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon of Port of Spain. The Archbishop wrote that Bishop Nicasio “willingly integrated himself” into the fraternity of bishops of the Antilles.

“His broad smile, vibrant spirit, pastoral sensitivity, friendly and brotherly spirit, witness and humour and deep concern for the people of Belize and the Caribbean have planted an indelible memory among the bishops of the conference,” the Archbishop wrote.

He said the bishops never forgot Bishop Nicasio’s “calm way” of negotiating the challenges of his illness, always looking at the bright side and always hopeful at returning face to face “to fraternise with us”.

The Archbishop recalled at the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bishop Nicasio anticipated uniting face to face with the bishops at the Annual Plenary Meeting which the Diocese of Belize City and Belmopan was scheduled to host in 2023.

“At the end of 2022, with sadness and disappointment, he communicated to us his inability to host us due to his illness and ongoing medical treatment. As brother bishops we were disappointed, yet we understood the reality and promised our ongoing prayerful and moral support.”

The Archbishop assured the AEC bishops joined the people of Belize City and Belmopan in mourning because they have lost a brother, a friend, and a pastor at the heart of Jesus. He took comfort in that this Caribbean servant of God has been “relieved” of his earthly suffering and now rejoices with Christ.

Earlier in his homily, Bishop Persaud opined many times the experience of loved ones in pain or suffering, a silent prayer is whispered that God remembers them and takes them out of their suffering and misery.

“And yet when we think we are ready and that moment comes that we call death, we not ready…. That wonderful smile that he was known for is no more, a brother whom we love. Our hearts are bleeding. We feel the pain of loss and separation but my dear sisters and brothers, we gather … as a Christian people who believe in a God who is alive, a God of life and not death… in faith we claim life, not death.”

The Bishop asked Nicasio’s family to stand and he thanked them for sharing him with the Catholic Church.

News Five reported that during the two-hour long service, Bishop Nicasio’s family members read from the Bible. There was the lively singing of the Our Father, accompanied by Garifuna drummers, “just how the late bishop would have liked”.

The late bishop’s brother, Herbert Nicasio, travelled from the US to attend the funeral. He shared with News Five that even though his brother gave his life to the Church, he also kept a watchful eye on the family.

Bishop Nicasio was laid to rest on the same grounds of Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral, beside the late Bishop Osmond Peter Martin, also of Dangriga, who supported him in his calling to the faith and who died February 16, 2017.