Choosing the Trinidad and Tobago we want to become
February 4, 2026
It has not been easy, but it has been grace-filled’
February 4, 2026
By Fr Robert Christo
Vicar for Communications
As sunrise stretched over Manniz stretch and the coconut trees and the sea gently lapped the shifting sand, the Catholic Church in Trinidad and Tobago gathered on the Mayaro coastline for a week-long synodal journey (January 26–30).
The salt air, the sound of waves, and the rhythm of Caribbean life shaped the prayer, reflection, liturgies, and discernment of this 2026 experience. What unfolded was not simply a retreat, but a movement: a turning of hearts toward the Church’s central and urgent pastoral priority—missionary disciples.
Seeing clearly: grace in a wounded church
The week began with honesty. Participants took a hard look at trends and the pastoral reality of the Archdiocese—the shifting ‘sand’ under their feet. Parish data revealed ageing communities, weakened youth engagement, and mounting social pressures that strain parish life.
Yet, side-by-side with these concerns were unmistakable signs of grace: committed lay ministers, sacrificial pastors, growing small communities, and renewed Eucharistic devotion.
This blend of grace and woundedness became the week’s landscape. In small groups, priests and leaders listened deeply to one another, practising the Synod’s method of spiritual conversation.
It was clear: the greatest obstacles facing the Church were not doctrinal but relational—passive parishioners, exhausted leaders, poor communication, and inconsistent formation. But the desire for renewal was unmistakable. The Spirit was stirring.
The coconut with sprout: cracking open the heart
Tuesday’s symbol, the coconut, captured the mood. Hard on the outside, rich on the inside—a Caribbean reminder that renewal begins when hearts crack open. As one facilitator prayed, “Lord, break open our hardness and let the sweetness of the jelly flow.” The image stayed with participants all week. Renewal cannot come from strategies alone. It must begin in the heart.
Discipleship at the centre—becoming missionary
By Wednesday, the attention turned sharply to the Synod’s burning question: ‘How do we form disciples in the concrete spaces where we serve?’
Scripture framed the day: “Here I am, send me” (Is 6:8) and “Go and make disciples” (Mt 28:19).
Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon reminded participants that the Synod is ultimately about identity—not programmes but people and mission. The Church exists to form missionary disciples who witness Christ with joy, creativity, and courage in the Caribbean context.
A draft mission statement repeated this priority: Trinidad and Tobago must become a synodal, Eucharistic family, forming missionary disciples who renew the domestic Church and our common home.
A Vatican document read aloud spoke directly: “Becoming missionary disciples is not achieved once and for all. It demands continuous conversion, growing in love… and openness to the Spirit’s gifts for joyful witness.”
The message landed with force with some inner conflicts. This is not optional. It is the whole Church’s call.
Sand and water: grace that holds us
Later that day, the symbol of sand and water returned. Sand shifts. Water reshapes. Caribbean Catholics know this well. The Church, too, stands on shifting cultural ground: secularism, digital distraction, violence, economic anxiety.
Yet water—God’s grace—is always moving, always cleansing, always carving new channels for mission. This symbol became an invitation: let grace soak the dry places of parish life.
The net and the fish: a Caribbean mission
No Caribbean synodal experience would be complete without the coastline speaking. On Thursday morning, participants stood with a Mayaro fisherman as he threw the net out. The symbolism was unmistakable.
The net = the Church’s mission, woven from the gifts, charisms, and co-responsibility of the People of God.
The fish = God’s people, who cannot be forced in the net nor boat, only accompanied with patience.
He reminded us: “You can’t make fish come. You must go where they are, lest you end up with planass—no fish.”
That fish line became the heartbeat for Friday liturgy. Missionary discipleship means going to the peripheries—the wounded, the youth, the migrants, the unbelieving, the tired, the forgotten.
It means casting the net with courage, trusting Jesus with the catch.
From vision to parish action
Thursday and Friday shifted the focus from inspiration to implementation. Facilitators guided participants through pastoral planning grounded in three questions:
- What is our parish context? (the reality)
- What is our parish capacity? (the resources)
- What is our parish mission? (the call)
Parishes drafted first steps:
– new small communities
– trained lay missionary teams
– youth discipleship pathways
– clearer communications
– strengthened hospitality
– better collaboration across ministries and vicariates
A synthesis team, after discernment and deliberation, wove these threads into a unified diocesan direction.
General Synthesis:
“The renewal of the life and mission of the Church is the work of the Holy Spirit who invites us to witness as authentic Christ-centred disciples. Christian leaders must themselves examine the nature of their own discipleship which leads them to meet people where they are. While recognizing the importance of formation programmes, more attention ought to be paid to encountering persons in the unique diversity of the spaces they occupy, where their gifts and talents are appreciated.
The Caribbean space is an historically wounded and grace-filled context in need of healing. In this space authentic disciples are called to model love, joy, trust, self-emptying, prayerfulness, discernment, hospitality and availability while preserving the dignity of people in the pursuit of life affirming relationships, with the hope of facilitating an encounter with the person of Christ.”
The atmosphere became one of hope, clarity, and shared purpose. As one priest put it: “For the first time in years, I think I know exactly what I’m going back to do.”
Final movement: sent forth
On Friday, the group gathered for a final blessing at morning prayer—the water’s edge. Sea water and sand—symbols of grace and challenge—were lifted in prayer. Each participant repeated the commissioning:
“Lord, send us as fishers of people.
Teach us to read the currents,
to meet people where they are,
to cast our net into the deep,
and to trust Your mysterious catch.”
Mayaro ended, but the movement did not. The Archdiocese leaves with a unified direction, a renewed heart, and a clearer identity: missionary disciples.
A Caribbean Church—wounded, grace-filled, Spirit-led—ready to cast the net again.
