On Dec 8, 2005, the Archdiocese of Castries launched its Golden Jubilee celebrations with a pontifical Mass at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

During the Mass, new stained glass windows, designed by master artist, Dustan St Omer were blessed and the Jubilee logo revealed. The Jubilee year ends on Dec 13, 2006 , the feast of St Lucy, Patroness of St Lucia, with an island-wide pilgrimage to the National Shrine, Micoud.

Parish jubilee celebrations commenced on December 11. Among the many jubilee celebrations planned throughout the year are: Jubilees for Families, Children, Consecrated Life, Medical Profession, Nurses and Health Care Workers, Jubilee for Mothers, Married Couples, Market Vendors, Students and Teachers; Members of the Legal Profession and Jubilee for the Physically and Mentally Challenged.

The November 2005 issue of the Catholic Chronicle carried the following editorial:

"Fifty years ago when Fr Charles Gachet, FMI became the first bishop of Castries , the socio-political situation was vastly different. The island of Saint Lucia was still a British colony within the Windward Islands striving to gain Associated Statehood. Economically, the banana was emerging as a potential being "green gold".

The extended family structure was still intact and most people were Catholic, even if only nominally. Travelling to Soufriere or Vieux-Fort was still "a trip"; Conway was a ghetto; Reduit a sandfly swamp; and going to Pigeon Island a delightful holiday boat trip for children.

Fifty years ago Père Tapon, Fr Roger, Fr Harcourt, Fr Vrignaud, Count Finbar Ryan were household names. First Communion, Corpus Christi and Midnight Mass were not only Catholic rituals but all-embracing social events. For an ordinary child to win a scholarship to St Mary's College or St Joseph 's Convent was the proudest moment in the life of an ordinary family.

It is important to recall those days in order to appreciate the strides that we have made and to assess the challenges ahead. In fifty years the Church in St Lucia has moved from being a part of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, to becoming a diocese, and then finally, an archdiocese with Suffragan Sees.

Candidates for the Pope John Paul II Preparatory Seminary. From left: Fr Jesus Obias, MF, Orlando Williams, Shawn Phillip and Dwayne "Peter" Dyce

Archbishop Kelvin Felix, Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy and Papal Nuncio Archbishop Thomas E Gullickson

Along the way it has achieved the same juridical status as the Archdiocese of St Pierre & Fort-de-France, the Archdiocese of Kingston, and the Archdiocese of Port of Spain to which it once belonged.

Among its suffragan dioceses is the diocese of Roseau, Dominica which became a diocese in 1850.

That was the same year Fort-de-France was made a diocese and Port of Spain, an archdiocese.

For the past 50 years, Bishops Charles Gachet, FMI and Richard Lester Guilly, SJ as well as two archbishops Patrick Webster, OSB and Kelvin Felix have held the mantle of leadership within the Church of St Lucia.

At the parish level, leadership has become increasingly indigenous with the growth of the local diocesan clergy.

Perhaps the most visible sign of a commitment to native leadership within the local Church in Saint Lucia is the establishment of the Pope John Paul II Minor Seminary at Marisule.

During the last fifty years there have been significant changes in all facets of St Lucian life; most significantly in the religious demography of the island. Not only has the Catholic population dropped from 90% to 67%, but the very texture of our religious pluralism has become more complex.

One can now distinguish clearly between traditional ecumenical partners, traditional non-ecumenical ecclesial communities, new and aggressive ecclesial entities and other religious groups (Rastafarians, Bahais, Muslims).

Moreover, the St Lucian religious landscape is now tinged with a growing secular ethos which can easily become the single greatest challenge for the Church in coming years.

In the light of the above, the archdiocese's thrust towards stewardship and parish revitalisation is a sound pastoral policy and an appropriate strategy for celebration of the Year of the Jubilee.

The goal of helping every Catholic understand what it means to live out one's baptismal responsibility as a Eucharistic person in a parish communion which constitutes a Eucharistic community, is a laudable one."

(Edited from Catholic Chronicle)