- Feb 5, 2002
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When St. Patrick arrived in Ireland in the fifth century, he came first as a slave. He later returned as a missionary to plant the seeds of the Catholic faith. In a similar fashion, when the first Irish came to the island of Montserrat, they were slaves who planted the Catholic faith in this “Emerald Isle of the Caribbean.”
Much like Ireland, Montserrat is a lush, green, and mountainous island, where St. Patrick is venerated and shamrock symbols can be found everywhere as a sign of the Montserratians’ blended Irish heritage and ancestry. The British Caribbean territory is the one place in the world where St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated as a public holiday for an entire week, not just on March 17.
“The island is filled with Irish names. Everybody has an Irish name: Sweeney, Alan, Fergus, Osborne; and the names of places on the island are all Irish: Cork Hill, Kinsale, Fogerty Hill,” Carol Osborne, a Catholic resident of Montserrat, told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, illustrating the impact of the Irish who first colonized the island after its founding in 1632.
Osborne explained that Montserrat’s St. Patrick’s week is a kind of homecoming for the Montserratian diaspora. Visitors get a shamrock stamped in their passports, and many Irish Americans take advantage of the inexpensive airfares to spend the March holiday in the Caribbean.
Continued below.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
Much like Ireland, Montserrat is a lush, green, and mountainous island, where St. Patrick is venerated and shamrock symbols can be found everywhere as a sign of the Montserratians’ blended Irish heritage and ancestry. The British Caribbean territory is the one place in the world where St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated as a public holiday for an entire week, not just on March 17.
“The island is filled with Irish names. Everybody has an Irish name: Sweeney, Alan, Fergus, Osborne; and the names of places on the island are all Irish: Cork Hill, Kinsale, Fogerty Hill,” Carol Osborne, a Catholic resident of Montserrat, told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, illustrating the impact of the Irish who first colonized the island after its founding in 1632.
Osborne explained that Montserrat’s St. Patrick’s week is a kind of homecoming for the Montserratian diaspora. Visitors get a shamrock stamped in their passports, and many Irish Americans take advantage of the inexpensive airfares to spend the March holiday in the Caribbean.
Continued below.
This Caribbean island celebrates St. Patrick’s Day for a week
Indentured servants planted the seeds of Catholicism on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, which shapes its identity today.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
