The 1st catholic church established in Jamaica was in
1534 and was erected of local stone and was situated
in New Seville which was what the Spaniards named the
area now called Seville in St Ann. I was born about 3
miles from the site. The church was called St. Peter Martyr
and was never completed as the capitol was moved to
Spanish Town and the church fell into ruins during the
British rule. In 1925 a British landowner who then owned the
property gave it back to the Catholic Church and it was
rebuilt and named Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Here is a photo which is exactly as I remember
it in all its quaint ivy covered beauty.
The first pastor here was Father Neil Donahue
a Jesuit priest from of Boston and he established a school
with the help of the Mercy nuns of Cincinnati.
The school was actually called Christopher Columbus High School.
Here is Father Neil in front holding his Panama style
tropical hat which was his trademark. He was introducing
his Chinese congregation to a visiting priest from
China. My aunt Kathleen is in the photo along
with some other relatives. My mother was
still an Anglican and she never became a
Catholic.
This is the church as it looks today.
This was the best school in my town. We had
to pay school fees but compared to the
alternative being offered by government
schools we were fortunate to have these
missionary schools.
These are photos of the school kids. I am the
girl next to the boy in the front row. My
sister Betty is the second to the right in
the front row and my cousin Bunty the little
girl far right next to her. She appears to be
crying.
Our uniform was ecru with maroon ties which
read CCHS. We wore berets and of course brown anklets
and shoes. Father Neil was very proud of the way he had
taken the little natives and taught us to read and write
and on this occasion he was having us perform for some
visiting dignitary from the big city. No doubt it was to
raise funds from the government. Father was always a
big fund raiser. I am dating thiese photos in the very early
1950's. I must have been 7 years old. Do the math.
Father died in Boston in a home for old Jesuit priests and
my cousin Winsome visited him before he passed away
around 1989. She said he remembered and asked about all of
his little kids in St. Ann's Bay.
As I look at the photos, I see doctors, lawyers, entertainers,
entrepreneurs, nurses and pilots. I think father did a fine job.
He had a lot of help from all those Irish nuns who were
sent to the missions. They were all quite young and loving
as I recall them. I think the Mercy nuns may have actually started
in Ireland.
