Georgetown celebrates 68th anniversary of establishment

GUYANA

The 68th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Georgetown was celebrated with a Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Brickdam Thursday, February 29. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB along with several priests of the Diocese.

The Diocese of Georgetown was established February 29, 1956 by Pope Pius XII through the issuance of the papal bull Quoniam Gravissimum. The Diocese encompasses the whole of Guyana.

Catholic Standard reported that during the anniversary Mass, the papal bull, handwritten in Latin on parchment, was on display. Since the day the Diocese was established was a leap day, the actual date of the anniversary only occurs every four years, during a leap year, such as this year.

In his homily, Bishop Alleyne recalled when the Diocese celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2016, he was quoted in the Catholic Standard as saying, “The Diocese is we own.”

While he admitted he did not remember saying that, “I certainly concur with the sentiments of affection, pride, ownership and responsibility that go with ‘is we own’ as we wish for the well-being and prospering of the Diocese.”

Bishop Alleyne said that at the formal inauguration of Diocese and the installation of the first Bishop of Georgetown in 1956, Bishop Richard Guilly SJ remarked that though the new Diocese had few Catholics, it was one of largest Dioceses in the world and “few can compare with its variety of races”.

The Bishop went on to mention some of the historical markers since the founding of the Vicariate in 1837; the struggle of Bishop John Thomas Hynes OP to secure priests, the legacies of Bishop James Etheridge SJ in increasing the number of churches in the Vicariate, of Bishop Anthony Butler SJ in increasing the number of schools and consolidating the faith in the North West, of Bishop Compton Galton SJ in initiating the Rupununi Mission and building the Cathedral.

The ministry of Religious communities was also mentioned.

Bishop Alleyne stated that at that time, 1956, the Ursuline Sisters and Jesuits had been present in British Guiana for over a century, the Religious Sisters of Mercy for 60 years and the Scarboro Missions, Corpus Christi Carmelites were more recent.

Under Bishop [Benedict] Singh’s watch the Missionaries of Charity, the Institute of the Incarnate Word, the Benedictines, the Crusade of the Holy Spirit, the Missionary Society of the Philippines, and the Servants of the Lord, and the Virgin of Matara joined the witness and ministry of consecrated life in the Diocese.

Bishop Alleyne added that Bishop Guilly made a point of praising the work of the laity that helped the Church to advance and went on to say, “If the privilege of diocesan status has been granted to us, it is because of the great work of those who have gone before. And it is for us to show ourselves worthy of our inheritance by generosity in facing up to our responsibilities….”

According to Bishop Alleyne, the readings that day offered a couple of pointers as to what would serve them well as a Diocese going forward. Jeremiah, he said, speaks of blessings on the person who puts their trust in the Lord, with the Lord for their hope and the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 1) says, “Happy indeed in the man (person) … whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night.”

This, the Bishop underscored, is “a wonderful image of a Diocese, in terms of its character and witness, and anniversary celebrations offer us the opportunity to refresh and affirm this image.”