Archbishop Gilbert sacrificed much for us – Archbishop Gordon

By Kaelanne Jordan

mediarelations.camsel@catholictt.org

Most people never realised how deeply the late Archbishop Emeritus Edward Gilbert CSsR felt or how much he sacrificed. Arriving in Trinidad at 64—athletic, energetic and full of vigour—he eventually left the Archdiocese sick, having “spent his health, his energy and his life on this diocese,” Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon told those gathered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the Requiem Mass for the ninth Archbishop of Port of Spain, last Monday.

Archbishop Gilbert died in the United States on October 15 at the age of 88. His Funeral Mass was October 25 at the Sacred Heart RC Church, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

In the homily, Archbishop Gordon said Archbishop Gilbert arrived at a moment when the Archdiocese needed new direction after decades without an episcopal transition.

“Archbishop Gilbert was not the bishop that many people wanted, but he was the archbishop that this diocese needed,” he said, noting that Archbishop Gilbert helped steer the local Church into the era shaped by St John Paul II.

While Archbishop Anthony Pantin CSSp had guided the archdiocese through the spirit of Vatican II, the global Church had shifted in the late 1980s. Archbishop Gilbert, Archbishop Gordon said, provided the moral, administrative, and missionary frameworks required for that new era “and set the mission of the diocese in a new direction with a lot of new energy.”

Archbishop Gilbert’s readiness to take responsibility for controversial decisions became a hallmark of his leadership. Archbishop Gordon recalled debates over the introduction of permanent deacons, with some fearing it would “displace the laity.” After listening to all sides, Archbishop Gilbert settled the matter simply: “very good, I will start the programme and I will be the principal of that programme.”

Similarly, when the enormous cost of restoring the Cathedral discouraged nearly everyone, Archbishop Gilbert made his stance unmistakable. At a priests’ meeting he declared: “That Cathedral will be done and I’m starting it right now.”

Archbishop Gordon shared his sorrow at Archbishop Gilbert’s not being buried in “his” Cathedral. Though Archbishop Gilbert was seen publicly as a firm administrator, Archbishop Gordon said he was far more tender-hearted than most realised.

“In his heart, he was a marshmallow,” he said, recalling how deeply Archbishop Gilbert felt the public opposition he faced early in his tenure.

Archbishop Gordon also recalled witnessing Archbishop Gilbert’s decline after retirement. The energetic man who once played golf and moved with athletic ease gradually lost mobility.

Parkinson’s disease and early dementia later reduced his clarity, yet Archbishop Gordon said, “the last of his conscious, clear insights were given to Port of Spain.”