We laid Bishop John Mendes (IN PHOTO) to rest in the Cathedral crypt on the last day of June this year -- almost 35 years to the day that he became parish priest of San Fernando, with Rev Fr Rudolph Mohammed and me as assistants. I was to be ordained a priest eleven days later and joined the team later that month.

We all walked into the presbytery that evening of July 1, 1970 to begin a major pastoral change -- from Benedictine monks ministry to Diocesan Clergy ministry.

It was not easy….

The year itself was one of unease. It was the year of the Black Power revolution, and the large concrete crucifix facing Harris Promenade was smeared with black paint.

The Dutch Benedictine fathers felt very uneasy with the social tensions and, as clergymen from Europe , they felt they could not continue their ministry here. The day after a State of Emergency was declared, the Benedictine fathers in San Fernando tendered their resignation.

Archbishop Anthony Pantin, in an ‘off the cuff' reply to the question of who would replace these fathers, answered, “The Diocesan Clergy of course!”

The answer came easily; it came from the heart. But who would be assigned? The discussions began.

I was the only diocesan priest scheduled for ordination that year so it was obvious that I would be selected. Bishop John Mendes, then in his fourteenth year of service in La Brea, seemed the best choice from among the senior clergy to head the new San Fernando team.

Eventually, we three fathers were appointed.

The other challenge was that the parish was steeped in the Benedictine spirituality, monasticism and style. “Diocesan Clergy” was a term alien to San Fernando. Foreign clergy were considered better than local clergy, and this position was held for most other things in the country at that time. Trinidad and Tobago had been independent for just eight years.

The third difficulty was implementing the Second Vatican Council. Since very little had been done in the parish, implementation was an uphill task. Many people refused to change and even viewed the sign of peace introduced in the Mass as a slap in the face.

And, now, after 35 years, San Fernando has seen many pastoral changes and has become a pivotal pastoral point in South Trinidad.

Looking back at the last 35 years, one recognises the role Bishop John Mendes played in the pastoral life of San Fernando , in its continuous growth as a parish to assume a significant role in the South of the country.

I have been part of that experience with my nine years of service to San Fernando and the southern parishes. Four of these years were with Bishop Mendes, and the other five years with other newly ordained priests and then retired Bishop Charles Gachet, now deceased.

John Mendes and I were involved in diocesan “musical chairs”. I was sent to the Cathedral after his stint there, and he returned to San Fernando after I had left.

He loved to sing and so he did. And, it was there in San Fernando that I had the support of musicians like Evangeline Hutchinson and Anthony Lee Mack in getting a foothold in the archdiocese for our local Church music. Cynthia Rocke and Bernadette Callendar-Roberts were all part of the “localization” movement.

The diocesan clergy enriched San Fernando, and the talent of the South has enriched and moved the Church forward over the last 35 years.

My entry into priestly ministry in 1970 in San Fernando was so varied and full of opportunities that my 35 years of service there, at the Cathedral, in Sangre Grande, Mayaro and the Chancery and at Assumption today have been a great experience.

Thanks be to God. There has never been a tiring or boring moment. Alleluia! Alleluia!