Dorick McGowan Wright (November 15, 1945 – April 15, 2020) was a

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

an prelate. From 2006 to 2017, he has served as the fourth

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the

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for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted his resignation on 26 January 2017 and appointed Fr. Lawrence Sydney Nicasio as the new bishop.

Early life

Wright grew up in the Holy Redeemer Cathedral parish in what was then

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

. His first cousin was Anglican bishop Philip Wright and his uncle was Pastor Lloyd Wright from Bethel

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Church. In 1961, while in his mid-teens, he lost his mother, two sisters, and a brother in

hurricane Hattie Hurricane Hattie was one of the strongest and deadliest tropical cyclones of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, reaching a peak intensity as a Category5 hurricane. The ninth tropical storm, seventh hurricane, fifth major hurricane, and seco ...

. The tree image on Bishop Wright's coat of arms is symbolic of the

mango tree ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoesthe "Indian t ...

that saved his life. He attended St. John's College and then taught for three years at Holy Redeemer Primary School. He then entered Conception Seminary, run by the

Order of St. Benedict , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

in north-west

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, where he completed his education for the priesthood.Woods, Charles M. Sr., et al. ''Years of Grace: The History of Roman Catholic Evangelization in Belize: 1524-2014.'' (Belize: Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan, 2015), pp. 305f.

Episcopacy

Wright was ordained at Holy Redeemer Cathedral, Belize City, on June 27, 1975. He then assisted at St. Joseph Parish, Holy Redeemer Cathedral parish, and Inmaculada Parish in

Orange Walk Orange marches are a series of parades by members of the Orange Order and other Protestant fraternal societies, held during the summer months in various Commonwealth nations, most notably Ulster. The parades typically build up to 12 July ce ...

. He returned to St. Joseph Parish as pastor and then to Holy Redeemer Cathedral. On April 4, 2002, Wright was consecrated at St. John's College as

Auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: * A backup site or system In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of ...

to Bishop Osmond P. Martin, with Martin the principal consecrator. He was appointed bishop of the diocese on November 18, 2006, and installed on January 23, 2007, with Archbishop

Luigi Pezzuto Luigi Pezzuto (born 30 April 1946) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He ended his career serving as the Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro from 17 November ...

, nuncio for Belize and El Salvador, presiding. Bishop Wright founded St. Benedict Diocesan Seminary, a minor seminary offering two years of college training to those studying for the priesthood. It opened on August 27, 2013, on the grounds of the former Santa Familia

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Monastery outside Santa Elena, Belize. Four young men comprised its first class. Wright outspokenly opposed efforts to decriminalize homosexual activity in Belize. His position was supported by the Belize Evangelical Council, and later also by the Belize Council of Churches that included the Roman Catholic Church in Belize as a member. With Bishop Wright's eyesight failing, he requested help to carry out his mission and in 2012

Viatorian The Clerics of Saint Viator (french: Clercs de Saint-Viateur ), abbreviated C.S.V. and also known as the Viatorians is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (priest, brothers and lay associates) founded in ...

Fr.

Christopher Glancy Christopher Glancy, C.S.V. (born April 10, 1960) is an American-born bishop of the Catholic Church in Belize. He has been the auxiliary bishop of the Belize City-Belmopan Diocese since 2012. Early life and education Christopher John Glancy was ...

was consecrated Auxiliary Bishop and

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

for the Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Dorick 1945 births 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belize Belizean Creole people People from Belize City 2020 deaths Belizean bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Belize City–Belmopan