About Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon

1971

ABJ entered Fatima College in 1971, where he was the troop leader of the Fatima Sea Scouts, and captain of the regatta team that won the Morrison Trophy in rowing and swimming in 1973 and 1974.

1978

While a member and examiner in the Royal Life Saving Society during the Fatima years, he achieved the Distinction Award, the highest life-saving certification available. His father died while he was in Lower Six, and upon leaving school in 1978 with passes in Physics, Chemistry and Math, he took over the family’s business.

1981

He managed this business successfully for three years.  Then in 1981, he entered the Living Water Community, a lay ecclesial community in Trinidad, and began his seminary formation at St John Vianney and the Uganda Martyrs, Mt St Benedict, Trinidad. He graduated with a first class honours BA degree in Theology from The University of West Indies.

1986-2000

He consequently pursued graduate studies at the Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium (1986–88) completing a Master’s in Theology, Magna Cum Laude and a BA in philosophy. He was ordained a priest at the age of 32 in 1991 in Trinidad and completed his PhD at Heythrop, the Jesuit College in the University of London (1996–2000). It was here that he learned that he was dyslexic.

2005

While parish priest of St Martin de Porres, Gonzales (East Port of Spain), an area perceived as troubled, he founded CITY (Community Intervention Transforming Youth Programme) which had the participation of all the stakeholders in the community—residents and groups in the community, the police, gangs and their leaders.

In 2005 and 2006, he was awarded the City Day Award (City of Port of Spain); and the Alexander B Chapman Award 2006 from the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee for the promotion of the Olympic ideals of using sports to promote peace. He also won the Motorola Community Policing Award 2006, a Caribbean-wide award of the region’s police commissioners for community initiatives that partner with the police, and bring peace to communities.
He lectured in the Department of Theology at the Seminary of St John Vianney and the Uganda Martyrs, as well as for other courses: Caribbean History, Social Ethics, Media, and Caribbean Technology. He was also a member of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice, the Archdiocesan Communications Commission and Vicar of Administration for the Archdiocese of Port of Spin (2006–2011).

Involvement

At present, he is the principal of the Caribbean School of Catholic Communications (CSCC) held during the August holidays at the Emmaus Retreat Centre, Arima and a committee member of The Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening (JURIST) project to expedite justice through the courts in Barbados.

He is a member of Jubilee 2000, an international ecumenical consortium that seeks justice through debt forgiveness on behalf of the world’s most indebted nations (D20), and continues to be a member of the Living Water Community. Archbishop Gordon is currently the Vice-President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference of Bishops and the Chair of their Communications Commission.

2011

Archbishop Gordon was ordained Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgetown on September 21, 2011, and installed as Bishop of Kingstown, September 23, 2011. At his ordination, he made it clear that his first task was to listen to and discern where God wants him to lead the Church.

2014 / 2015

He called two Synods, one in Bridgetown in 2014 and in Kingstown early 2015, to hear what the people of the Church had to say. In Barbados, continuing his work with developing all people of God, he funded The Hub—People helping People, as a unit in the Barbados Diocese to assist persons in achieving sustainable livelihoods.

2017

During Lent of 2017, he delivered the prestigious Carl J Peter Lecture on preaching at the North American College in Rome, and the homily at the official ecumenical service of Hamburg, Germany to coincide with the meeting of the G20.

He also presented a paper for the CARIFESTA XIII Symposium in August 2017 addressing the ‘Challenge and Opportunities of Technology to the Caribbean Culture and Identity’. He was subsequently installed as the Archbishop of Port of Spain on December 27, 2017.

Who is ABJ?
  • D.O.B.

    March 17, 1959

  • Parents

    Stanley & Rose Mary Gordon

  • Age at Time of Priestly Ordination

    32

  • Year of Priestly Ordination

    1991

  • Episcopal Ordination Date

    September 21, 2011

Conversations with Archbishop J

The promise of a New Covenant

Q: Archbishop J, why covenant? Part 2 Last week, we traced the covenants from creation, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David. Interestingly, with each successive covenant, the […]

I have made a covenant with my chosen…’

Q: Archbishop J, why covenant?  At the Mass to bless the new altar last week at St Joseph, a lady told me: “Archbishop, please write on […]

Hope, and God’s Word

Q: Archbishop J, why a Sunday of the Word of God? At the end of the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis designated the third Sunday in […]

If I were Spiritual Director for T&T…

Q: Archbishop J, how would you proceed if someone asked you to be the Spiritual Director to T&T? Spiritual direction is an extremely specific discipline and […]

The superpower from God that we all need right now

Q: Archbishop J, what is hope? Hope is often confused with optimism. One is a divine gift and the other a human trait. Optimism is the […]

Jubilee 2025 – a year of grace, forgiveness & hope

Q: Archbishop J, what is a Jubilee Year?  Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, has declared 2025 a Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church, also known as […]

The Nativity through Joseph’s eyes—a meditation

While meditating before the Blessed Sacrament, I found myself truly present in Bethlehem, among Joseph, Mary, and the Child Jesus. There, Joseph shared his story with […]

Hope – a vital theological virtue

Q: Archbishop J, what does ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ mean? The papal document for the Jubilee Year begins with the phrase: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). […]

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