Bishop Harvey in good spirits after collapse

UPDATED:

Bishop of Grenada Clyde Harvey was hospitalised after he collapsed during mass in Grenada early Thursday morning.

According to a representative of the Catholic News, Harvey was officiating at a special mass at Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in St George’s Grenada at 6 am when he collapsed. The last thing he recalled doing was giving the sign of peace before he fell unconscious.

He was assisted by members of the clergy and then taken to St George’s General Hospital where he was treated for extreme dehydration. Harvey told the Catholic News he was fine, in good spirits and laughing. He admitted he had not been taking fluids as he should and described the service at St George’s General as “excellent.” He was scheduled to be discharged yesterday.

However, this was not Harvey’s first medical incident in Grenada. Speaking to Newsday at a recent visit to Trinidad, he said, “God has indicated to me very clearly that my pace is not his pace. I fall and mash up my knee and all kinda thing.”

Yet he described his post in Grenada as challenging and adventurous. He said, like any adventure, it was scary and exciting but the people had been wonderful to him and the island was beautiful. The former parish priest of the Laventille/Morvant area was ordained Fifth Bishop of the Diocese of St George’s in Grenada in July this year.

Harvey, 69, was ordained priest by Archbishop Anthony Pantin on June 27, 1976, a Diocesan priest for the service of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain. Two other young men were ordained with him – Christian Pereira and Carlos Roberts – and the three new priests chose as their motto, “To make known to Caribbean people the loving-kindness of the heart of our God.” In 1979 Harvey worked with Lucy Gabriel in founding Lifeline, a hotline helping persons who are suicidal. He also co-founded two support organisations for people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS – Community Action Resource (CARe) in north Trinidad, and South AIDS Support based in San Fernando.

Since 1993 Harvey has been chair of the Morris Marshall Development Foundation, a community-based NGO which provides educational and personal development opportunities for the people of Laventille.

In July this year Harvey was robbed of $1,000 and his cellphone by three bandits who broke into the presbytery at the St Martin de Porres church in Gonzales, Belmont, hog-tied him and threatened to kidnap him. Four men were subsequently held for the robbery.

- with additional reporting by Janelle De Souza