Antilles Episcopal Conference Explained
| Antilles Episcopal Conference |
| Map: | Karte Kirchenprovinzen und Diözesen der Karibik - es.png |
| Mcaption: | Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Provinces and Dioceses in the Caribbean, including members and non-members of the AEC. (in Spanish) |
| Abbreviation: | AEC |
| Formation: | 1957[1] |
| Type: | Episcopal conference |
| Purpose: | To support the ministry of bishops |
| Headquarters: | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Region Served: | Former British, Dutch, and French colonies and dependencies in the Caribbean |
| Membership: | Active and retired Catholic bishops of the Caribbean |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Leader Name: | Charles Jason Gordon |
| Website: | aecbishops.org |
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 America, and northern South America. The conference's membership includes five archdioceses, fourteen dioceses, and two missions sui iuris. These particular Churches minister to Catholics in thirteen independent nations, six British Overseas Territories, three departments of France, three countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and 3 municipalities of the Netherlands proper.[2]
The bishop from an American insular area, the United States Virgin Islands, has been granted observer status. The episcopal conference is led by a president, who must be a diocesan ordinary and is elected by the membership of the conference for a three-year term. The conference also elects a vice president, who has the same qualifications as the president, and a treasurer, who can be a diocesan ordinary, a coadjutor bishop, or an auxiliary bishop. Additionally, a permanent board - consisting of the president, vice president, treasurer, the metropolitan archbishops and two other elected members - handles administrative issues between plenary meetings of the conference. As of 2024, the president of the conference is Charles Jason Gordon, Archbishop of Port of Spain, while the vice president is John Derek Persaud, Bishop of Mandeville.[3]
The Holy See appoints an apostolic delegate to the Antilles Episcopal Conference, who also serves as the Apostolic nuncio (papal ambassador) to the independent nations of the conference. The nunciature is located in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The current apostolic delegate is Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu,[4] who replaced Archbishop Nicola Girasoli after he was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Peru.
Member jurisdictions
| width=30% | (Arch)Diocese | width=30% | (Arch)Bishop(s) | width=40% | Covered secular Territor(y/ies) |
|---|
| Province of Castries[5] |
|---|
| Archdiocese of Castries | Robert Rivas, O.P. | Saint Lucia |
| Diocese of Kingstown | Gerard County | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Diocese of Roseau | Gabriel Malzaire | Dominica |
| Diocese of Saint George's in Grenada | Clyde Martin Harvey
- [6] Sydney Charles (emeritus)
| Grenada |
| Diocese of Saint John's–Basseterre | sede vacante - Robert Llanos (Apostolic Administrator); Kenneth Richards (emeritus); Donald Reece (emeritus) Joseph Bowers, S.V.D (emeritus) | Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands |
| Province of Kingston |
|---|
| Archdiocese of Kingston in Jamaica | Kenneth Richards, Charles Dufour (emeritus); Donald Reece (emeritus); Lawrence Burke (emeritus); Edgerton Clarke (emeritus) | Jamaica |
| Diocese of Belize City and Belmopan | Dorick McGowan Wright
- Osmond Martin (emeritus)
| Belize |
| Diocese of Mandeville | sede vacante; Neil Tiedemann, C.P.; Gordon Bennett (emeritus); Paul Boyle (emeritus) | Jamaica |
| Diocese of Montego Bay | Burchell McPherson | Jamaica |
| Mission Sui Iuris of Cayman Islands | Allen Vigneron | Cayman Islands |
| Province of Nassau |
|---|
| Archdiocese of Nassau | Patrick Pinder | Bahamas |
| Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda | Wiesław Śpiewak C.R.; Robert Kurtz, C.R. (emeritus) | Bermuda |
| Mission Sui Iuris of Turks and Caicos | Joseph W. Tobin | Turks and Caicos |
| Province of Port of Spain |
|---|
| Archdiocese of Port of Spain | Charles Jason Gordon
- Joseph Harris C.S.Sp. (emeritus); Edward Joseph Gilbert, C.Ss.R. (emeritus)
| Trinidad and Tobago |
| Diocese of Bridgetown | Charles Jason Gordon (Apostolic Administrator); Anthony Dickson (emeritus); Malcolm Galt (emeritus) | Barbados |
| Diocese of Georgetown | Francis Alleyne, O.S.B.; Benedict Singh (emeritus) | Guyana |
| Diocese of Paramaribo | Wilhelmus de Bekker
- Aloysius Zichem, C.Ss.R (emeritus)
| Suriname |
| Diocese of Willemstad | Luigi Secco | Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba) |
| Province of Fort-de-France |
|---|
| Archdiocese of Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France | David Macaire
- Gilbert Méranville (emeritus); Maurice Marie-Sainte (emeritus)
| Martinique |
| Diocese of Basse-Terre and Pointe-à-Pitre | Jean-Yves Riocreux | Guadeloupe, along with Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin |
| Diocese of Cayenne | Emmanuel Lafont | French Guiana |
| Observer |
|---|
| Diocese of St. Thomas | Jerome Feudjio
- Herbert A. Bevard (emeritus)
| United States Virgin Islands | |
See also
References
- Book: Case. Frederick I.. Taylor. Patrick. 2013. The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions - Volume 1: A-L; Volume 2: M-Z. University of Illinois Press. 876. 9780252094330.
- Web site: About Us - Who We Are. Antilles Episcopal Conference. 2007-07-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20070802133642/http://www.catholiccaribbean.org/articles.asp?id=46. 2007-08-02.
- Web site: Antilles Episcopal Conference (A.E.C.), Conference of Bishops . 2024-04-02.
- Web site: New Apostolic Nuncio of the Antilles Episcopal Conference | NOW Grenada. November 9, 2017.
- Web site: Territories – Antilles Episcopal Conference.
- Web site: New Bishop for Grenada Announced by the Vatican | NOW Grenada. Linda. Straker. June 23, 2017.
Sources and external links
