Vincent Matthew Darius, OP (6 September 1955 – 26 April 2016) was the

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 ca ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint George's in Grenada The Roman Catholic Diocese of St. George's in Grenada ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Georgii) is a diocese, of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean, which encompasses only and the entirety of Grenada. It is a suffragan of the Metro ...

from 2002 until his death.

Life until priesthood

Darius was born in

Crochu Crochu is a town in Saint Andrew Parish, Grenada Saint Andrew's is the largest parish in Grenada. The main town is Grenville, which is also Grenada's second largest town after St George's. Grenville is also known as La Baye (its former Frenc ...

, a village of the Grenadian

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Saint Andrew's, and received

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

at the local RC school before advancing to

Grenada Boys' Secondary School The Grenada Boys' Secondary School (GBSS) is a secondary school in the island of Grenada. Origins The Grenada Boys’ Secondary School, initially known as the St. George's Grammar School officially, opened on 2 February 1885, at Mrs. Grey's prem ...

. For three years after this he taught at Pomme Rose RC Primary before aspiring to the Dominican Order, based at Mount Saint Ervans, in 1978. Received into the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

the next year, he made his first profession on 15 September 1980. He settled in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

at the Holy Cross Priory in

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of th ...

and on the island studied for the priesthood at the then-regional Seminary of St John Vianney and the Uganda Martyrs in

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

, though the latter he also did at the ''Universidad Central de Bayamón'' (

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

) and the

Aquinas Institute of Theology Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic graduate school and seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded by the Dominican Order and is sponsored by the Province of St. Albert the Great. Academics The institute offers a number of gr ...

(

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, MO). Here he obtained a graduate certificate in

spiritual direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

Priesthood

He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

on 28 June 1987 by Bishop Lester Guilly, SJ, then

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Georgetown The Roman Catholic Diocese of Georgetown (Latin: ''Dioecesis Georgiopolitana'') (erected 12 April 1837, as the Vicariate Apostolic of British Guiana) is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain. It was elevated to the Diocese of Georgetown ...

(

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

), in the church of his childhood (in Crochu), St Martin de Porres. The next year he was elected

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of his order's house of formation back in Puerto Rico. Upon his return to Grenada he was appointed

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Saint Paul's and, a year later, of Grand Anse. Then, in 1989, he was appointed promoter of justice within his order for the Caribbean, in which role he served for six years. He was also elected to two terms as the first prior of the newly established house at Roxborough, Saint Paul's. Among the many other positions in which he served his native diocese, Darius sat on the

college of consultors A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...

and the council of priests.

Episcopacy

On 10 July 2002, while serving as the spiritual director of the seminary by appointment of the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC), it was announced that Darius was elected by

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

to be the fourth Bishop of St George's in Grenada, after he had accepted the resignation of Sydney Charles (which was announced in the same release). With this the diocese was to be led for the first time by a native of the country and once again by a bishop of religious profession (as opposed to Charles, who was, by exception, a priest of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain). Coat of arms of Vincent Darius

He was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

by Charles on 2 October, with then-Archbishop

Kelvin Felix Kelvin Edward Felix, OBE, SLMH, DAH (born 15 February 1933) is the Roman Catholic Archbishop emeritus of Castries. He was born in Roseau, Dominica, on 15 February 1933.Joseph Jr., Rudy (2006, 28 April). 50th Anniversary: Archbishop Felix cel ...

Castries Castries is the capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous district has a population of 70,000, as at May 2013. The city stretches o ...

and then-Bishop

Malcolm McMahon Malcolm Patrick McMahon, OP, KC*HS (born 14 June 1949) is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Since 2014, he has been the ninth Archbishop of Liverpool. Previously, he was Bishop of Nottingham from 2000 to 2014. Early life an ...

, OP, of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

as the principal co-consecrators. In 2003 his Puerto Rican alma mater bestowed on him an honorary doctorate of humanities and their ex-alumni association's award for outstanding achievement.

Coat of arms

The shield is divided into three sections, but at the top the bands of red, yellow and green represent his

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

. The right section contains the black and white crest of his Dominican Order as well as a mountain and rising sun for his family background. The middle section depicts the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

and the islands of his diocese (Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique). The left section contains the reverse of the

Miraculous Medal The Miraculous Medal (french: Médaille miraculeuse), also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces, is a devotional medal, the design of which was originated by Catherine Labouré following her apparitions of the Blessed Virgin MaryAnn Ball, 20 ...

, recognising the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

as patroness of the diocese. The motto: Proclaim the Good News.

Death

In the early hours of 26 April 2016, after "a battle with pneumonia" and while undergoing medical treatment at

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Darius died at the age of sixty. According to a release from his diocese, it appears his sisters and family members were in the city with him, and the release goes on to say that his death was not unexpected. Darius could not be present at this year's APM (Annual Plenary Meeting) of the AEC, which took place just over two weeks prior, in the Archdiocese of Port of Spain.Caribbean Bishops meet
''Catholic News (Trinidad and Tobago)'', 10 April 2016 (front page)

References