Abbreviation | AEC |
---|---|
Formation | 1957 [1] |
Type | Episcopal conference |
Purpose | To support the ministry of bishops |
Headquarters | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
Region served | Former British, Dutch, and French colonies and dependencies in the Caribbean |
Membership | Active and retired Catholic bishops of the Caribbean |
President | Charles Jason Gordon |
Website | aecbishops.org |
The Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) is a Roman Catholic episcopal conference. Its members are bishops and archbishops from current and former British, Dutch, and French colonies and dependencies in the Caribbean (excluding Haiti), Central America, and northern South America. The conference's membership includes five archdioceses, fourteen dioceses, and two missions sui iuris. These particular Churches minister to Catholics in thirteen independent nations, six British Overseas Territories, three departments of France, three countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and 3 municipalities of the Netherlands proper. [2]
The bishop from an American insular area, the United States Virgin Islands, has been granted observer status. The episcopal conference is led by a president, who must be a diocesan ordinary and is elected by the membership of the conference for a three-year term. The conference also elects a vice president, who has the same qualifications as the president, and a treasurer, who can be a diocesan ordinary, a coadjutor bishop, or an auxiliary bishop. Additionally, a permanent board — consisting of the president, vice president, treasurer, the metropolitan archbishops and two other elected members — handles administrative issues between plenary meetings of the conference. As of 2024, the president of the conference is Charles Jason Gordon, Archbishop of Port of Spain, while the vice president is John Derek Persaud, Bishop of Mandeville. [3]
The Holy See appoints an apostolic delegate to the Antilles Episcopal Conference, who also serves as the Apostolic nuncio (papal ambassador) to the independent nations of the conference. The nunciature is located in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The current apostolic delegate is Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, [4] who replaced Archbishop Nicola Girasoli after he was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Peru.
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan", "titular archbishop" or "titular bishop", which normally goes by the status conferred on the titular see.
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity.
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The Catholic Church in Trinidad and Tobago is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Apostolic Nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago is, since November 2017, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, who is also Apostolic Nuncio to other independent states and Apostolic Delegate to the Antilles.
The Catholic Church in Guyana is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. Bishops in Guyana are members of Antilles Episcopal Conference. Like most other nations that form the AEC, the Apostolic delegate to the bishops' conference is also the Apostolic nuncio to the country, currently American archbishop Thomas Edward Gullickson.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John's–Basseterre is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church, covering five English-speaking jurisdictions in the Caribbean. The bishopric is a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Castries, and a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference, but remains dependent on the missionary Dicastery for Evangelization.
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The Roman CatholicDiocese of St. George's in Grenada is a diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses only and the entirety of Grenada. It is a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Castries and a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference. The diocese depends on the Dicastery for Evangelization.
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Robert Rivas O.P. is a prelate of the Catholic Church who was archbishop of the Castries in St. Lucia from 2008 to 2022.
Vincent Matthew Darius, OP was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint George's in Grenada from 2002 until his death.
Precedence signifies the right to enjoy a prerogative of honor before other persons; for example, to have the most distinguished place in a procession, a ceremony, or an assembly, to have the right to express an opinion, cast a vote, or append a signature before others, to perform the most honorable offices.
The Bishops' Conference of the Netherlands is a permanent body within the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands which determines policies and directs the apostolic mission within the Netherlands. It is governed by bishops from around the country.
Luigi Conti was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He held the title of archbishop and the rank of nuncio from 1975.