African slaves transported to British Caribbean holdings later in the 17th century would experience even worse brutality at the hands of their masters, as perpetual or chattel slaves, until slavery was finally abolished throughout the British Empire in 1834.
While these Irish brought the Catholic faith to Montserrat, which at one point was dominated by Irish inhabitants more than the other British Caribbean islands, fewer than 12% of Montserratians identify themselves as Catholic — a consequence of the legal discrimination that the Church endured until the first half of the 19th century, which prevented them from sending priests to the island and building churches. Most of the islanders are Christian, but the two largest denominations are the Anglican and Pentecostal churches.
James Doan, a humanities professor at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, highlighted the challenges in a research paper for the International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures, stating: “Priests said Mass in secret, some being smuggled from nearby St. Kitts (60 miles away) disguised as sugar-cane workers.” Only in 1826, Doan pointed out, did a Catholic priest receive funds and permission from the authorities to build a church for his flock.
A hardy faith
Still, the Catholic faith has hardy roots in Montserrat. It has weathered and rebuilt after severe natural disasters, such as the devastation of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and the 1997 eruptions of the island’s volcano, which destroyed the previous capital city of Plymouth and rendered the island’s southern area uninhabitable. Approximately two-thirds of the island’s pre-disaster population emigrated, but a third remained to rebuild their future in the preserved north.
“Contrary to what some people thought, it actually strengthened their faith. They were very thankful that God protected their island,” Father George Agger, who was pastor on Montserrat from 2006 to 2015, told the Register. Despite the devastation, most people were successfully evacuated, and only 19 lives were lost.
The people of Montserrat have a “very strong faith” that treasures the blessings that they have, explained Agger, of the Divine Word Missionaries. Agger recounted that when he would visit the sick and dying on Montserrat and ask them how they were doing, they would say, “Thank God for life!”
Osborne pointed out that the Church established one of Montserrat’s first schools, St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic School, more than 140 years ago and rebuilt it after the Soufrière Hills volcano destroyed it. The island’s three Catholic churches were all named for saints the Montserratians identify with: St. Patrick (the slave who brought Christianity to his former captors); St. Martin de Porres (who also has mixed African-European ancestry); and Our Lady of Montserrat (who is known in Spain as the “Black Madonna,” due to the color of the statue). Only St. Patrick’s and St. Martin de Porres have been rebuilt in new locations, but Osborne said that a Florida family donated a beautiful statue of St. Patrick to Montserrat’s Catholic community.
Lasting Irish connection
Since the 1970s, Montserrat’s Catholic community has been served by Irish priests from the Divine Word Missionaries.
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Agger said the first Irish priest to arrive in Montserrat from his order was Father Larry Finnegan, a local hero highly regarded for his self-sacrifice during the volcanic crisis.
“He stayed with people, he could have had nice accommodations, but he lived with the people in the evacuation centers … with 80 different people sharing two toilets, one shower and the same food,” Agger said. Finnegan, who died in 2015, also worked hard to make sure that St. Augustine’s school was rebuilt and reopened quickly for the school children. “He was my best friend, and it was great to work where he had worked.”
The Anglican community of Kinsale, Ireland, also fundraised to help rebuild St. Patrick Church in a new location, after their pastor learned from Agger that it had been destroyed in Kinsale, Montserrat, by the volcano. They sent a beautiful processional cross made of stainless steel that incorporated a sail, symbolizing the journey of St. Patrick overseas, and a new Book of the Gospels.
What connects the Irish and the Montserratians is the figure of St. Patrick that looms large in their identities. Religious leaders give the annual sermon that opens the St. Patrick’s week festivities.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on March 17, 2016, and was updated March 14, 2024.
Peter Jesserer Smith is the national news and features editor for OSV News. Before that he was a staff reporter for the National Catholic Register for nine years. He covered Pope Francis’s historic visit to the United States in 2015, and to Jerusalem and the Holy Land in 2014. He has reported on the Syrian and Iraqi refugee crisis, including from Jordan and Lebanon on an Egan Fellowship from Catholic Relief Services. He graduated from the National Journalism Center and earned a B.A. in Philosophy at Christendom College, where he co-founded the student newspaper, The Rambler, and served as its editor. He comes originally from the Finger Lakes region of New York State.