Gordon becomes Archbishop today

By this evening Trinidad and Tobago will have a new Archbishop of Port of Spain in the person of Fr Charles Jason Gordon.

Gordon, 58, formerly Bishop of Bridgetown and Antigua, will be installed at a ceremony this evening at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Port of Spain. For the installation there will be traffic restrictions around the cathedral from 3 pm to 8 pm and those without passes provided by the diocese will not be allowed through.

Gordon will be the eleventh Archbishop of Port of Spain and the third Trinidadian to lead the local Catholic church, following his predecessor Joseph Harris and the late Archbishop Anthony Pantin. Harris, 75, served as Archbishop since September 14, 2011, succeeding American Edward Gilbert.

In March 2016, Fr Gordon made headlines in Barbados and across the region when he was charged with assaulting 41-year-old altar server Junior Blackman. Gordon appeared in court, was granted bail and told to return after pleading not guilty.

The case was dismissed by Magistrate Kristie Cuffie-Sargeant in July that year, when, according to a report in the St Lucia Times, Blackman said he was no longer interested in pursuing the matter.