The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgetown ( la, Dioecesis Pontipolitana) is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. The diocese encompasses the entirety of the former British dependency of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, and a member of the

Antilles Episcopal Conference The Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) is a Roman Catholic episcopal conference. Its members are bishops and archbishops from current and former British, Dutch, and French colonies and dependencies in the Caribbean (excluding Haiti), Central Ameri ...

. Erected in 1970 as the Diocese of Bridgetown-Kingstown, the diocese was split on 23 October 1989 into the Diocese of Bridgetown and the

Diocese of Kingstown The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kingstown ( la, Dioecesis Regalitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Caribbean. The diocese comprises the entirety of the nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ...

. In September 2011, Father Jason Gordon was consecrated Bishop of this Diocese, after the retirement of Bishop Malcolm Galt in May 2005. Both Bishops Malcolm Galt and Jason Gordon are clergy native to Trinidad . In 2009, the Mayor of the Irish city of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

presented Father Harcourt Blackett with a scroll to commemorate the 360th anniversary of the deportation of Irish Catholics to Barbados. The Irish Catholic migrants formed the basis of the Catholic Church in Barbados. Historically the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

was the official state religion in the colony of Barbados, and the Irish Catholics that practiced their faith were forced to worship and practice their religion in caves in Barbados. Specifically Indian cave and Chapel cave both in the northern parts of Barbados have been identified as having been used as such. Father Blackett said he expected to receive more scrolls from other Irish cities which Barbados has a historic link including

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. He also proposed the establishment of a shrine in the Caves in Barbados to remember those that worshiped there in the past.

Ordinaries

Anthony Hampden Dickson Anthony Hampden Dickson (3 November 1935 – 29 November 2022) was a Jamaican clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgetown. Dickson was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 3 November 1935. He became ordained in 1962, and appoint ...

(19 October 1970 – 23 April 1995) * Malcolm Patrick Galt, C.S.Sp. (23 April 1995 – 31 May 2005) *

Charles Jason Gordon Charles Jason Gordon (born 17 March 1959) is a Trinidadian Roman Catholic prelate and the current Metropolitan Archbishop of Port of Spain since his appointment in 2017. He had served prior to this as a parish priest for the locality of Gonzal ...

(8 July 2011 – 19 October 2017), appointed Archbishop of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago * Neil Sebastian Scantlebury (28 Dec 2020 - )

References

Notes

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dbrit.html * http://www.barbados.org/churches/catholic.htm Catholic Church in Barbados

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Port of Spain {{RC-diocese-stub