Honour those who came before you by living your Catholic faith and pass on its traditions to the next generation.

“Your commitment to respecting your history and building the future will make the difference for the presence of the Church in this area,” preached Archbishop Edward Gilbert during Mass last Sunday to mark the 250th anniversary (1756-2006) of the establishment of the Church in the Toco/Matelot Pastoral Area.

Concelebrating the Mass with him at the Church of the Assumption, Mission, Toco, were Spiritan priests Fr Gerard Farfan, who once ministered in the area, Fr Mike Ezenwammadu, who ministers on weekends, Fr Ben Iheagwara and Fr Enel Emeus.

The singing and music were led by a combined parish youth choir, joined by a few members of the People of Praise Music Ministry, who had participated in a concert held the night before.
The liturgy began with a celebratory dance by three young women of the Cumana community, while Marsha Jarvis – of the Rampanalgas community – sang and danced up the aisle with the Book of Gospels, to be proclaimed by Fr Ezenwammadu.

The Eastern Vicariate parish comprises the communities of Toco, Cumana, Grand Riviere, Matelot, Rampanalagas, Balandra, Salybia, L’Anse Noire, Sans Souci and Montevideo. Faithful from each community, as well as from other parishes in the archdiocese, joined in the historic celebration.

But celebrating history, the Archbishop said as he began his homily, should not be the main focus. “We thank God for the history, but should concentrate on the present and the future,” he stated.

Entrance dance

Archbishop Gilbert at the sign of peace

He told the congregation that the area had a rich but violent history as many fought to win control of it, from the Caribs to the French, English and Spanish. During that time, the faith was passed from generation to generation up to the present.

But Archbishop Gilbert noted that today the parish community faced challenges, including waning church attendance. He said it was therefore important that the community continued to feed its people by continuing to teach and live the Catholic faith.

Through those 250 years, “what kept you together was your commitment to Catholic teachings and traditions” and support for each other, he said. Looking at First Communion candidates seated in the front pews, he added that if their new faith was not taught and sustained, they too like many would move on. “If we’re not open to being fed, we’ll forget, we’ll stop praying, stop celebrating, and we’ll distance ourselves from the faith,” he stated.

The Archbishop described the church building as “the heart of the parish” but said if a hurricane came along and blew the church into the nearby sea, and parishioners gathered a day later on this spot, it would still be church. “That is because you are the living stones,” he remarked, adding that those who might no longer be physically present still maintained a presence because they too were living stones. “It is your turn to sustain it and expand it,” he told the gathering.

He advised parishioners to “be a people familiar with adaptation” as nothing stood still, and outlined the strategy of the archdiocese as it grappled with the challenge of fewer priests to meet its needs. He said all communities, regardless of size, must adjust and adapt to ensure “everyone gets the same level of service… everybody will make the same sacrifices”.

He ended by saying that while he would not be around for the 300th anniversary celebrations, “what you have will depend on you”. He promised his continued support.

Awards and other presentations were made toward the end of the Mass to those who had helped build the parish community, with special mention made of clergy and religious who ministered in the area like Fr George Lewis, Dominican Fr Brendan Ryan, Spiritan priest Fr Dexter Brereton, Sr Rosario Hackshaw HF and Sr Annette Chow SJC.

The Archbishop was presented with a platter of lobster and fish as a parting gift, while visitors and parishioners were invited to stay for lunch and other refreshment at the nearby Toco RC School.

SOME PARISH HISTORY
• Between 1758 and 1760 Capuchin priests of the Santa Maria province in Spain founded six missions in Trinidad, one of which was in Toco. The settlement in Toco was called Mission.
• Toco became a parish in 1830. A new church dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption was rebuilt at Mission Village in 1837.
• Toco has a close relationship with Tobago. In the 1890s, Delaford became part of the Toco parish and its parish priest, Fr Reginald Sarthou OP, made the formidable crossing several times a year to continue missionary activities there.
• There are six Catholic schools in the parish: Rampanalgas RC, San Souci RC, Matelot RC, Cumana RC and Toco RC (primary), and Matelot Community College (secondary).