Grenada
Grenada is an island country in the Caribbean. As well as the main island, there are six smaller islands making up the group. It is sometimes known as Spice Island, because of the importance of Mace and Nutmeg (from the same plant) to the economy. It was colonized by the French in 1649 and became a British colony in 1763. It has been independent since 1974.
St. Patrick's Missionaries in Grenada
In 1969 the Bishop of St Georges, Grenada, requested St Patrick’s Missionary Society to send ‘two or maybe three good priests’ to work in his Diocese. The first three priests arrived there in October 1970, Frs Paddy Hannelly, Padraig MacCormac amd John F Sheehan.
Starting with a parish on the small island of Cariacou, the Society built up its presence over the years to take charge of seven parishes and to supply a priest-teacher in St David’s Secondary School.
Sadly two missionaries died in accidents in Grenada. Fr Pat Walsh died in a fall from a church tower and lay volunteer teacher Michael Burns was drowned in the sea.
In the 1980s Fr Oliver Leavy SPS forged links between the Church in Grenada and Catholics in Ireland the United States when he took a parish musical group, ‘Spice Island Youthquake’, on successive tours. The group gave many public performances and on one occasion sang at Sunday Mass broadcast on Irish Television.
