Anglican Church Mourns Passing of Retired Archbishop Drexel Gomez at 88

The Anglican Communion is tonight mourning the loss of retired Archbishop Drexel Wellington Gomez who passed away at home yesterday in Nassau, The Bahamas at age 88. Ordained a Deacon in 1959, made a priest in 1961 and became the bishop of Barbados in 1972; Bishop Philip Wright of the Anglican Church reflected on his life and legacy.

Bishop Philip Wright, Anglican Church : “Of interest for those who are so inclined, Archbishop Gomez and Bishop Sylvester,  who was Bishop of Belize buried on the grounds of um St. John’s Cathedral with his wife.  Yes, Bishop Anthony Sylvester.  He and  Bishop Gomez were made bishops on the same day, 24th of June 1972.  Archbishop Gomez would go on to become Bishop of the Bahamas with the Turks and Caicos Islands  in  1996, sorry. And then he would become Archbishop of the West Indies in 1998.  He retired on the 31st of December 2008 but remained very active and very involved both in the Diocese of the Bahamas and in the wider Caribbean in  the church in the province of the West Indies.”

According to Wright, his death is a tremendous loss to the Anglican Communion.

Bishop Philip Wright, Anglican Church: “Among those you cannot replace. Just what he brought with him to the House of Bishops, to the Standing Committee, to the Church in general,  is just quite overwhelming.  And he will be greatly missed by all of us. A younger Bishop like myself would have always seen him as a sort of father figure, if you will. As a matter of fact, he was the one who conducted my service of  consecration when I was made a bishop 20 years ago.”

Wright spoke of the marks Archbishop Gomez left on the Anglican Church in Belize.

Bishop Philip Wright, Anglican Church: “Especially at times when we didn’t have a bishop, you when there was a vacancy, he ensured, he made sure that the work  of the church  in this country continued, even if he himself would come in  and assist with Confirmations and that sort of thing, or he would get his fellow Bishops  to come and do those services for us. So in so many ways, he has made a lot of contributions to the Church in Belize itself.”