Fr Leslie Tang Kai bids farewell to Tobago

FR LESLIE TANG KAI bade farewell to his parishioners on October 6 after eight years at the helm of the RC church in Tobago.

In a brief interview shortly before his departure, he told Newsday, “I came as a stranger and I am leaving as a son, because I now have a mother, father and siblings.”

Tang Kai, who also posted the comment on his Facebook page, explained, “When I came to Tobago, I literally did not know anybody. I had no family, I had nothing. I just came into a parish.

“Before, in all of my years, if I had been to Tobago three times, that was plenty. So coming to Tobago was like, ‘What am I doing here?’ Now is like, ‘Why am I leaving here?’”

The priest, who was based at the St Joseph RC Church, Scarborough, described his departure as bittersweet.

“I am leaving at a time when people who were instrumental in my formation here have passed.”

He said he recently visited one of the church’s stalwarts at hospital and shortly afterwards the man died.

Tang Kai said he was sorry he would not be in Tobago to officiate at the parishioner’s funeral.

“So it is really an emotional transition.”

Tang Kai’s schedule over the next few weeks will be quite hectic.

He had planned a trip to Medjugorje, a go-to site for Catholic pilgrims.

Medjugorje is a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina where it was reported that the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ,  appeared to six local children many years ago.

From there, he’ll be vacationing in Calvary, a site on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where, it is said, Jesus was crucified.

Tang Kai is also due to speak at a prayer breakfast at St Francis of Assisi/St Blaise RC church in Brooklyn, New York on November 9.

He is expected to return to Trinidad on November 14 to take up his next assignment, which, more than likely, will be at the Assumption parish in Maraval.

Tang Kai said he was told in June he would be reassigned and a replacement announced in due course.

“I don’t have a definite name of the person that is coming to Tobago, but I suspect they are still working out the fine print for my replacement. It is a challenging thing to find a replacement when you don’t have a lot of priests available.”

He said although Ugandan priest Fr Mathias Mulumba Ssajjabbi, who was ordained in August 2023, has been his assistant for several months, the church may want a more seasoned priest to lead the parish.

Tang Kai, who is of mixed ancestry, started his ministry in Tobago on September 1, 2016, after several years at the Blanchisseuse RC Church in Trinidad.

At St Joseph RC, he replaced Fr Steve Duncan, who is now assigned to the supercluster of St Francis of Assisi, Sangre Grande.

He recalled some parishioners were sceptical about his appointment.

“They wanted to know who I was and where I came from.”

He said some members of the congregation even accused others, who are of mixed heritage, of withholding information about him.

“They kept telling them, ‘Yuh cudda tell us yuh family was coming.’”

Ordained in 2008, Tang Kai was single-handedly responsible for ministering to the church’s flock in two parishes comprising eight communities.

Apart from the main church, St Joseph RC, he also officiated at Our Lady of Lourdes, Patience Hill; Our Lady of Fatima, Mt St George; St Anthony’s, Mason Hall; and St Peter’s, Castara.

His outspoken style of ministry initially drew mixed responses from the church’s faithful, who had grown accustomed to the often stoic demeanour of past clergymen. But his parishioners quickly accepted and even appreciated his blunt, unapologetically honest approach to the teachings of the doctrine.

Tang Kai’s sermons have explored topical issues, including youth alcohol abuse, violent crime and political turmoil in the Tobago House of Assembly.

His mode of dress, too, also did not always conform to what many would associate with a man of the cloth.

Tang Kai wore the traditional elb and chasubles for Sunday Mass and special church observances. But he could just as easily be seen in short pants and T-shirt or an African-inspired outfit, depending on the occasion.

During Tobago’s first carnival in October 2022, Tang Kai drew stares from parishioners when he braided his hair in keeping with the spirit of the occasion.

From the outset of his stewardship in Tobago, Tang Kai said he knew there would be challenges in building the Catholic flock.

For starters, the church has always been the minority faith in Tobago. Moravians, Methodists and even Anglicans have traditionally had much larger followings.

He said apart from the die-hard Catholics living in Tobago, Sunday masses and other services were attended mainly by visiting Trinidadians or tourists.

As a result, he said getting human and financial support for certain activities was challenging.

Even so, Tang Kai told Newsday the Catholic faith is still highly regarded.

“While we are not the number-one faith in Tobago, we are still recognised and appreciated by many who are not Catholic and call on us all the time to attend different functions.”

He believes the Catholic church, more than ever before, must reach out to people in need, regardless of their station, faith or ethnicity.

“That was my ministry: helping Tobagonians see through the challenges of life. So whether it be a young adult, an elder, going to visit the sick...all these things made up my ministry.”

Tang Kai admits it was overwhelming at times.

“After doing three masses a day, having to rush to the hospital to visit a person there and as you finish anointing them and your turn your back they pass away, you say, ‘Oh, Lord, is a good thing I went,’ because if I didn’t go, the family would say they called the priest and he never came.

“So it was about being available and accessible at times when you are yourself extremely tired and out of it. When you do three masses on a Sunday morning, you just want to crash in your bed.
"But then somebody is calling you to come and visit their sick. I was very concerned about how families would see the church.”

Tang Kai said he would miss everything about Tobago, including his interactions with average people and his fellow religious leaders in the Tobago Council of Churches.

“All these people who were a part of my life. It showed how much you were loved and appreciated by people from every walk in life."

He said the Tobago Heritage Festival, especially Charlotteville’s Natural Treasures Day, holds a special place in his heart.

“Although I will be in Trinidad, July will see me in Charlotteville. I will just go down in the night afterwards.”

Tang Kai said he will also miss the annual Anglican ancestral walk from Mt Irvine to the St Patrick’s Anglican Church, Mt Pleasant. The event is a re-enactment of a walk made by the pioneers of the church on the island. They carried bricks from Mt Irvine to Mt Pleasant, which had been transported by ship from England and used to build the church.

Tang Kai said celebrating the island’s cultural heritage has been an integral part of his ministry.

“That is where you meet the people, you learn their background, culture. For me it was important as well because it was also historical.”

Tang Kai said he would like to be remembered as a servant leader, “a person who served all people to the best of my ability."

He advised the incoming priest to continue in the same vein.

“Be yourself, be humble and be open to all people.”