R.C. religion celebrates 150 years in Belize
As one of the oldest religions to take root in Belizean society, it’s not too surprising that this year the Roman Catholic Church is celebrating its sesquicentennial anniversary. Bishop O.P. Martin says the year long celebration is being held under the theme: “Celebrating the past, serving the present, embracing the future.”
Bishop O.P. Martin, Roman Catholic Bishop
“It’s a hundred and fifty years since our missionaries arrived here to do the work of evangelisation, in other words to make Christ known to others and make Christ loved by others. That is in a nutshell what evangelisation is all about, knowledge, and after knowledge love.
There will be parades in celebration of our faith, there will be liturgical services and not only to be held here at Holy Redeemer or in Belmopan at the Co-cathedral, but individual parishes. For example, St. Francis Xavier Parish in Corozal; La Immaculada Parish in Orange Walk; Sacred Heart Parish in San Ignacio and Dangriga; St. Peter Claver Parish in Punta Gorda. There will be many, many activities, spiritual activities on the local level.
I would like this event to be an event that touches the life of our country in a spiritual way. That is the objective of this entire celebration. We are struggling against the disorder in our society, the violence in our society, the lack of discipline in our society, the lack of self respect and mutual respect. So there are a lot of things that we have to struggle against and all this campaign is spiritual, because our enemy our there is a spiritual enemy.”
The celebration kicked off on Sunday with a mass and will culminate on November twenty-fourth with a massive co-celebrated mass at the Co-cathedral in Belmopan. As a point of interest, the Holy Redeemer Cathedral as it stands on North Front Street in Belize City was constructed in 1852.
