Grenada bishop says after Hurricane Ivan diocese must be rebuilt

Published: 2004-09-13

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CNS) -- The bishop of the Caribbean island of Grenada said the entire diocese will have to be completely rebuilt after being devastated by a powerful hurricane churning its way toward the United States. Bishop Vincent Darius of St. George's in Grenada said all church structures there had been damaged following the passage of Hurricane Ivan, the most powerful storm to hit the region in a decade. "Like all the other buildings here, our churches, presbyteries, convents and schools have received structural damage," he said. Ivan, traveling through the Caribbean and headed for Cuba and the United States, killed at least 47 people, including 19 in Grenada and 19 in Jamaica. Ninety percent of Grenada's buildings were flattened or badly damaged, and the Red Cross estimated 60,000 of the island's 90,000 people were left homeless. Speaking to Catholic News Service on a borrowed cell phone Sept. 12, Bishop Darius said the roof of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in St. George's had caved in. The eye of "Ivan the Terrible" -- as the hurricane has been dubbed by locals -- passed directly over the capital Sept. 7.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .