ROMAN Catholic archbishop, Fr Jason Gordon, says Pope Leo XIV could make a visit to the Caribbean, following discussions held during the recent Antilles Episcopal Conference meeting in Rome, Italy.
“We just have to wait, and pray and see,” Gordon said.
He confirmed that an official invitation has been extended to the Holy See by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, led by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Port of Spain.
Speaking to the Catholic News, Gordon said the invitation to the pope was formally delivered during his recent visit to Rome.
“The Central Government and the Archdiocese of Port of Spain have invited Pope Leo XIV to visit. During last month’s visit to Rome, we said: “We would like you to visit this region. The government of Trinidad and Tobago and the Archdiocese would like you to visit.” It (invitation) is being delivered to you as we speak. An official copy went to the nuncio (papal ambassador). I took a copy and handed it to the Secretary of State.”
Gordon said the Vatican has not rejected the proposal for Pope Leo XIV to visit.
“The fact is we raised it with the Secretary of State when we visited him and he acknowledged. We just have to pray and hope and wait and see. He did not turn it down and not only that he listened,” Gordon said.
He added that the initiative builds on the last papal visit to the region.
“The last time we had the Pope in our region was John Paul II. It occurred at the end of his visit, with stops in Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. It was at the end of the 25th apostolic visit when he was winding up.”
Pope John Paul II visited Trinidad and Tobago on February 5, 1985.
At the time, he told worshippers in Port of Spain that the nation’s name itself reflected a spiritual identity rooted in the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
“Permit me to begin, dear brothers and sisters, by venerating the Most Holy Trinity, whose name your country bears: Trinidad and Tobago,” he said in his homily.
“Glory to you, O Trinity!”
An Associated Press report on Sunday said Pope Leo XIV recently presided over a Mass in Madrid attended by more than one million people, during which he urged Europe to recognise Christianity’s role in shaping its cultural identity and celebrated Spain’s long-standing traditions of religious devotion.
Pope Leo XIV (Robert Francis Prevost), the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City, is the first pope born in the United States and the first to hold both United States and Peruvian citizenship.
