Kelvin Edward Felix, OBE, SLMH, DAH (born 15 February 1933) is the Roman Catholic

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

emeritus of

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 ...

. He was born in

Roseau Roseau ( Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau R ...

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographical ...

, on 15 February 1933.Joseph Jr., Rudy (2006, 28 April). 50th Anniversary: Archbishop Felix celebrates. ''The New Chronicle'' (back page). He became a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

at the

papal consistory In the Roman Catholic Church a consistory is a formal meeting of the College of Cardinals called by the pope. There are two kinds of consistories, extraordinary and ordinary. An "extraordinary" consistory is held to allow the pope to consult wit ...

held on 22 February 2014.

Youth and early clerical career

Felix was born in Dominica and ordained a priest on 8 April 1956. In 1962 he left the West Indies for St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, where he attained a Diploma in Adult Education in 1963, gained a master's degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...

in Indiana in Sociology and Anthropology in 1967 and completed post graduate studies in Sociology at the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

in England in 1970. He was the Principal of the Roman Catholic High School in Dominica from 1972 to 1975 and Associate General Secretary of the Caribbean Conference of Churches from 1975 to 1981.

Archbishop of Castries

Felix was consecrated archbishop on 5 October 1981 and served as President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference from 1991 to 1997 and President of the

Caribbean Conference of Churches The Caribbean Conference of Churches is a regional ecumenical body with 33 member churches in 34 territories across the Dutch, English, French and Spanish speaking territories of the Caribbean. It was founded in 1973. Member Churches *African Me ...

from 1981 to 1986. He is now a member of the Roman Curia. The Province of Castries, of which Archbishop Felix was the Metropolitan, includes St. George's-in-Grenada,

Roseau, Dominica Roseau (Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau Ri ...

, and St. John's-Basseterre, Antigua/St. Kitts. The Diocese of Kingstown was suffragan of the Archdiocese of Castries until 2011 when it was transferred to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Port of Spain. In addition to the administration of the Catholic Church in St. Lucia, Archbishop Felix was responsible for 33 primary schools, two secondary schools, one girls' vocational school, two homes for the elderly, one shelter for the homeless and an orphanage for young children.Archdiocese of Castries Website
accessed 16 February 2015. On 12 April 2006, Felix was attacked and grabbed on the neck by a man with a knife, as soon as he finished an evening sermon at the

Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Castries The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, located in Derek Walcott Square, Castries, Saint Lucia, is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Castries, currently Robert Rivas. The cathedral is named after Mary ...

. The man ran after Felix was aware of a sawing motion on his throat, and then pushed him backwards. News of the event made Saint Lucian natives reminiscent of a similar attack at the same Cathedral on New Year's Eve, 2000, in which a nun was killed and another injured.Christine Larbe
"Archbishop attacked, security tightened for holy weekend"
, StLuciaStar.com, 14 April 2006; retrieved 5 May 2006. As he approached his retirement age, Felix requested of the Vatican that a co-adjutor archbishop be appointed to ensure a smooth transition in the Archdiocese. On 19 July 2007, Bishop Robert Rivas of the Diocese of Kingstown as Co-adjutor Archbishop of the Diocese of Castries. His installation was held on 14 October 2007."New archbishop comes to St. Lucia"
htsstlucia.com, 20 July 2007; retrieved 4 October 2007. Since his retirement, he has returned to his native Dominica, where he assists in smaller parishes.

Cardinal

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 ...

made Felix a

on 22 February 2014 for his service to the church. He is the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria della Salute a Primavalle.

Distinctions

The Archbishop was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1986 from St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia and was appointed an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

in 1992. In 1999, he was awarded Dominica's highest honour, the Dominica Award of Honour for Meritorious Service by the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica. In 2002 he received the Medal of Honour (Gold) (SLMH) of the Order of St. Lucia for services to Religion from the Government of St. Lucia on occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the country's independence for having rendered eminent service of national importance to Saint Lucia.

References

External links