The blessing of Archbishop Pantin’s joy, humour and humility

Archbishop Gordon Anthony Pantin CSSp died on March 12, 2000. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his death, submissions were received by some of those who knew him well. These are the final two.

By Gerard AJ Granado, M.Th. (Edinburgh, UK)

I had the blessing of knowing Archbishop Anthony Pantin since I was 11 years old. A teaching priest at the time, Fr Pantin was my first teacher of French when I entered Form 1 of St Mary’s College (CIC).

I have very fond memories of that first term–especially how it ended, with our jolly teacher marching us off to the music hall to teach us some French Christmas carols and songs. I could still see him in front of the class, clearly enjoying himself, singing lustily while leading us in the songs.

Fr Pantin was a man of contagious, child-like JOY in the Lord! A description of St Thomas Aquinas, seems quite applicable to Archbishop Pantin: “…he always had a joyous countenance, sweet and affable.” It is also said that Thomas inspired JOY in all who saw him. We can confidently say the same of Anthony Pantin.

Fr Pantin became our Dean in Form 3. It was that year that the news came of his appointment as Archbishop of Port of Spain! I remember so vividly the afternoon of his episcopal ordination.

As CIC scouts, we formed a guard of honour at the entrance of the Cathedral to witness our teacher become the first native Archbishop of Port of Spain. I remember hearing a priest remark in passing: “What a terrible thing to do to such a nice man!” His benevolence was well-known.

It is his wit and humorous disposition—even in the most serious of situations—that many remember Archbishop Pantin for. Interestingly, St Thomas Aquinas identifies this kind of humour as an authentic virtue and a sign of sanctity.

Borrowing the term from Aristotle, he labels it eutrapelia (wittiness). Aquinas considers it uplifting. Ricky Singh of the Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC) once commented on the blessing that it was that Archbishop Pantin was able to use his humour to diffuse the very tense atmosphere that existed at the CCC’s second General Assembly in Guyana, during the Forbes Burnham regime.

Apart from his humour, the other ‘H’ that would cause me to believe that Archbishop Pantin is a saint, is his humility. He was quick to point out that one of the titles given to the members of the Holy Ghost Congregation (to which he belonged), is ‘Les chiffonniers de l’eglis’ [‘The rag-pickers of the Church’]—those called to take on the humblest service in the Church while identifying with the most marginalised.

His love for the poor was well known. People in need cluttered the premises of Archbishop’s House daily, awaiting assistance from him. Also, early in his episcopate, he took on personally the responsibility of parish priest of Laventille—one of the most poverty-stricken communities in the country.

He lived in the presbytery there among the people and drove his little Volkswagen Beetle up and down Laventille Road. According to Matthew 25, it is on the basis of such love and service to “the least” of Christ’s “brethren” that sanctity will ultimately be assessed.

His humility was also manifest in his relations with other Christian churches and people of other religious faiths. In the fields of both ecumenical and interfaith relations, wholesome relationships demand a relinquishment of ego and a posture of Hospitality – ie the embrace of ‘the Other’ in their ‘Otherness’. Archbishop Pantin’s humility allowed for this in a superb way. In fact, the Inter Religious Organisation (IRO) of T&T was ‘born’ in Archbishop’s House, Archbishop Pantin being the ‘midwife’. Its official address remains there.

A few days after Archbishop Pantin’s death, I saw a TV interview of a Hindu pundit who said that whenever he went to IRO meetings, he never felt that he was in the Archbishop’s House. He simply felt that he was at home!

Archbishop Pantin also had a firm commitment to ecumenism, being himself a President of the CCC for one period.

In keeping with the mind and decrees of Vatican II, he had a keen sense of his responsibility to provide leadership in engaging with other Christian churches, witnessing to the unity of Christ’s followers prayed for by Jesus Himself.

His support for the CCC was not just bureaucratic. There was a pastoral dimension to it. He would not merely send a cheque to the CCC. He would bring it to the office himself. That gave him the opportunity to encounter the staff, familiarise himself with their work and give them personal encouragement.  In emphasising the importance of remaining committed to the ecumenical journey, as President of the CCC, he wrote the following as the Foreword to one of the organisation’s major publications:                                                                                                     “We must not deny our differences, but neither must we give up the search for Christian unity, especially when the going gets hard.”