Installation Mass for Most Rev. Charles H. Dufour: A most wonderful occasion.

By Msgr. Kenneth Richards


In an atmosphere that was charged with expectation as with electricity, the presence of the Holy Spirit was truly felt as approximately two thousand four hundred (2400) persons gathered at Holy Trinity Cathedral for the Installation Mass for the Sixth Metropolitan Archbishop of Kingston, Most Rev. Charles H. Dufour, DD, CD. The Most Rev. Thomas Gullickson, the Papal Delegate presided over the Rite of Installation, and he was assisted by Archbishop Emeritus Most Rev. Donald J. Reece, DD, GCM., in seating the new Archbishop in his Cathedra.

Dignitaries present for the occasion included His Excellency the Most Hon. Patrick Allen and Lady Allen; the President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference, Most Rev. Patrick Pinder, Metropolitan Archbishop of Nassau Bahamas; Most Rev. Neil Tiedeman, Bishop Mandeville; Most Rev. Robert Kurtz, DD., Bishop of Hamilton Bermuda; Archbishop Emeritus of Kingston, Most Rev. Edgerton R. Clarke, DD.; Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, MP (representing our Prime Minister, Hon. Bruce Golding); Hon. Dr. Peter Phillips, MP (representing Leader of the Opposition, Most Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller); President of the Senate, Hon. Oswald Harding; Rev. Gary Harriott, General Secretary of the Jamaica Council of Churches; Rt. Rev. Alfred Reid, Anglican Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands; Rt. Rev. Howard Gregory, Suffragan Bishop of Montego Bay; Rt. Rev. Robert Thompson, Suffagan Bishop of Kingston; Members of Parliament; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; other Dignitaries; over one hundred & fifty (150) local and visiting Priests and Deacons; Religious Sisters and Brothers; Archbishop Dufour’s Family Members and overseas guests; the laity of the local church; well wisher; and members of the local media.

In a stirring homily that elicited periodic applause from the congregation, Archbishop Dufour, pledged to build on the legacy of his predecessors. His charge to the Archdiocese included the call for a recommitment in the following areas: to safeguard the dignity and sanctity of life from conception to natural death; to build on the efforts of his predecessors to restore Catholic presence and values in our Catholic Schools; to renew the value of family life as central to societal transformation and advancement. Archbishop Dufour also highlighted the importance of wholesome family life in facilitating the mission of the Church in building the Kingdom.

May the clergy, religious, and laity of the Archdiocese of Kingston respond to the charge of our Archbishop in making his charge to the Archdiocese a reality! All for the Glory of God!