…Bid farewell to Fr Kwesi

A farewell Mass for Fr Kwesi Alleyne was marked by an emotional tribute from his mother, who thanked the Church of the Incarnation community for the love and care shown to her son during his four and a half years as parish priest.

The Mass was celebrated Friday, August 14, the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as parishioners from Maloney, Mausica, and D’Abadie gathered to bid farewell to Fr Kwesi, the fifth parish priest of the Church of the Incarnation, which serves the three communities.

For his mother, Aletia, the occasion was an opportunity to reflect on her son’s journey and the gift of music that has been part of his life since childhood.

“Yes, he has been singing from since he was a little child. The neighbours would hear him singing first and then see him,” she said.

She said his love of singing became part of his ministry and his relationship with the community.

“And you know he really demonstrated that in his preaching and also in his love for the community… I would hear about it as well,” she said.

As Fr Kwesi prepares for a new chapter in his priestly journey, his mother said she was entrusting him to God.

“I just pray that this new journey would be a good one and my prayers would always be with you.”

She then offered a moving farewell to her son in song, singing ‘God Will Take Care of You’.

During his homily, Fr Steve Duncan, Vicar of the Eastern Vicariate and Tobago, reflected on the Solemnity of the Assumption and the example of Mary, drawing a connection between Mary and Fr Kwesi’s mother. He then thanked her for the years she had spent nurturing her son.

Fr Duncan also reflected on the relationship between Fr Kwesi and the parish community, saying parishioners had welcomed and supported him throughout his ministry.

“You kept your word. Perhaps if there was a formal installation as we had on Monday, I don’t know what to say after that. You may have not wanted him to depart. You may have wanted to keep him,” he said.

Fr Duncan noted that Fr Kwesi had not only preached and taught the Word but had lived it.

Representatives of the parish communities, along with a representative of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, also paid tribute to Fr Kwesi.

Fr Kwesi, reflecting on his time at the Church of the Incarnation, described the farewell as a moment of thanksgiving.

“The sentiment that has resounded in my heart over these past days is one of overwhelming thanksgiving,” he said.

He recalled his arrival at the parish in 2022 and the welcome he received.

“I felt embraced. I felt at home.”

Fr Kwesi said the openness and love of the parish community allowed him to bring more of himself into his ministry.

“You drew out of me things that were deep within me. You allowed me to express it and to draw it into my ministry, my service, and you allow that. It is through you, however, that I have come to see and to appreciate in deeper ways what the course, the joy, the commitment of discipleship means.”

As he brought his farewell to a close, Fr Kwesi thanked the parish community for the years they had shared adding “it will not be the last.”