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On Sunday 27th June 2004, Archbishop Kevin Felix blessed and dedicated the new Information and Technology Classroom for the Archdiocesan Education & Training Institute located at the John Paul II Seminary, Marisule. The classroom was named the ‘Haven Room’ after ‘Haven,’ the grandson of Mrs. Susan Iacobucci. Mrs. Iacobucci donated US$35,000 to Food For The Poor, Inc., to purchase the 24 computers, large screen TVs and cameras required to equip the room.
Attending the blessing ceremony were : Mrs. Iacobucci herself, Head of the Technology Department at St. Thomas High School in Miami, and who ceremonially switched on the first computer; Mr. Angel A. Aloma, executive vice-president of Food For the Poor, Inc., who was instrumental in securing the grant from Mrs. Iacobucci to purchase the equipment; Mrs. Denise Aloma, vice principal of St. Thomas High School, Miami; and Marie Modic, English Teacher, St. Thomas High School. Also present were some members of the Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM) and of the steering committee for the Institute.
The following is brief history of the project by Mrs. Bertilia Jn Baptiste, local coordinator for the St. Thomas University Programme.
Following upon the Nigeria meeting of His Grace and Fr. Ed Blackwell of the St. Thomas University the Archdiocese engaged in continued dialogue for setting up a program of studies here. We had opportunity to examine the university’s proposals especially but not exclusively in the field of education, but also other areas which would benefit educators, catechists, pastoral leaders and workers of the Archdiocese. St. Thomas University seeks to provide to the archdiocese a cost -effective way for providing quality training, to those who are desirous of enhancing their professional development but hampered by financial and family commitments. In the field of education the university offers its B.A. in Elementary and Secondary Education, Masters in Educational Leadership and other specialization courses in Counselling and Special Education. The university also offers certificate courses of a pastoral and theological nature to this archdiocese in theology, religious studies, catechist certificate, and other related fields to church life. These programmes are delivered through different modes. The main method of delivery however is through “Blackboard” which is an online programme. Other delivery modes include teleconferencing where the St. Lucian students have access to the classes simultaneously with those on campus. St. Thomas will also provide face to face classes where faculty members from the university will come down in summer to tutor these classes. The University hopes to recruit local staff at the Masters level minimum qualification, to assist in the programmes. This Haven Room (later on in the program you will hear why it is so named) with all the equipment you see here today, the computers, and the television. the projector, the cameras, the video recorder and DVD and much more are indicative of the quality of what the University will offer and also the Archdiocese’s readiness to launch out into new fields in education as the need arises.
There have been some obstacles in getting where we are today. The Archdiocese continues to hold dialogue with all stake holders to assist in meeting the educational and training developmental needs of its people. With its Florida connection, the St. Thomas University and the Food for the Poor we are confident that this Archdiocesan Education and Training Institute will become a formidable institution in the years ahead.

Reflections on the Solemn Ordination
of George Williams to the Holy Priesthood
by
Mary and David Popo

(From L - R): Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, Bishop of Dominica, newly-ordained Fr. George Williams and Bishop Donald Reece, Bishop of St. John’s - Antigua

When I was in my early teens, my
eldest brother left for the USA, and prior to his departure, he said to me, “As you make your journey in life,always remember these three words: PERSEVERANCE! DEDICATION! DEVOTION! I have since passed on these words of inspiration to our children and, with the passage of years characterized by the mysteries of life and uncertainties, I have grown to appreciate the spiritual ‘treasure’ that my brother had bequeathed me. We are sharing this because Georgie’s seemingly long journey to the Holy Priesthood was punctuated with so many moments of darkness, in both the secular and religious spheres. But he persevered with faith ‘on the road to Damascus’ with dedication and devotion, towards fulfilling his vocation. As Bishop Donald Reece said in his homily at the ordination, “ the Church has given George a ‘Second Chance’ after he fell astray along the road”. His journey was one of Faith, Hope, and Love-the three great theological virtues of the Church.
As we boarded one of the regional airlines, the ‘Caribbean Star’, I could not help but remember the words of the insightful Indian Poet, Rabrindranath Tagore who once said, “Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark. “ Somehow, I had an uncomfortable feeling that something might go wrong at the final moment. Finally, the moment was here! The green light came and Georgie’s moment was here! We remember also Christmas 2002, a tone of our Christmas parties at home, when in one of our ‘ole talk sessions’ with Monsignor Anthony (PABA), he said to George with a prophetic tone something to the effect that “Georgie, its been a long journey, no one doubts that you want to give your life to the church and your passion for the poor; if you really want to be a priest, remain steadfast and, in God’s time, you will make it
This is the Day, the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be Glad!
The St. Lucian posse ( mamay Anse La Raye, Dennery, Desruisseaux, Jacmel, Gros-Islet) had arrived in Antigua and Barbuda to celebrate and rejoice with Bro. George. As we sat and waited for the solemn entrance of the clergy, the congregation was graciously steered into a prayerful and thanksgiving gear by a youthful ‘Praise and Worship’ choir group from St. Lucia, under the conductor of Fr. Goodman. During the solemn procession of the Bishop and clergy, the following words of scripture ringed through my mind, “A thousand years in the eyes of man, is like one day in the eyes of God, and one day in the eyes of man, is like a thousands years in the eyes of God” I sensed that although, it was a long and winding road for Bro. George, the final moment felt like the ‘right time’ in the ‘right place’ and that God’s ‘right hand’ was all over the place. We sat with Rose Aubertin who said to us, “ I have been to a couple of ordinations, but this one was so different, so warm and touching”. George was meant to be a priest, she chokingly said.
In the early years of the life of the Church, the scriptures tells us that the Holy Sprit had a way of just grabbing the disciples literally by the head and throwing them out into strange places to spread the good news. Well! George had been grabbed by the head to spread the good news in Antigua and Barbuda. During the ordination ceremony, when Bro. George was giving thanks to God for the unconditional love and support of his parents, family, and hundreds of friends, Bishop Reece and the people of Antigua and Barbuda, for making it possible to have a ‘second chance, he said.. there have been times when people felt that Bro. George (as he is affectionately called),had become snobbish and distant. I am no snob, George gently replied, “my journey over the past years and experiences have taught me to become so much more humble and, more importantly a contemplative person “ Indeed, a truly contemplative person always remain connected to God despite human frailties and the contradictions of life. We pray that God will guide Fr. George in his ministry work in Antigua and Barbuda and, for that matter, the rest of the Caribbean region. A priest ordained for any part of the Caribbean, is also a priest for the whole Caribbean region. That’s part of the process of Caribbean integration! We left Antigua overwhelmed with the love and warmth of the Catholic Community of Antigua and Barbuda. On behalf of the Saint Lucian posse, Mary delivered the thanksgiving speech at the end of ordination ceremony. At that moment, my eyes fell upon the friends and relatives who had come from the parish of Anse La Raye and I could see tears of joy streaming down some of their faces. The Antiguans gave us a treat and we really want to thank especially Mrs Thomas and the coordinating team, the parishioners for making us feel at home and for all the ‘good limes’ we had at Bikini’s Beach. To Fr. George (Georgie), we say to you, always remember that God is good all the time and we pledge
our prayerful support to you always.

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