Pope Francis expresses gratitude for dedication of late Cardinal Felix

By Devin Watkins

Cardinal Kelvin Edward Felix, Archbishop Emeritus of Castries, died on Thursday, May 30, at the age of 91.

He served as the Archbishop of Castries in the West Indies island nation of Saint Lucia from 1981 until his retirement in 2008. Pope Francis created him Cardinal in 2014.

In a telegram sent on Saturday, Pope Francis said he was saddened to learn of the death of the Cardinal.

He expressed his condolences to the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Castries and the Church in the West Indies.

“Recalling with deep gratitude the late Cardinal’s many years of dedicated episcopal ministry in Saint Lucia, especially his efforts in fostering the education of young people and his contribution to the Church throughout the Caribbean, I willingly join you in commending his soul to the love and mercy of our Heavenly Father,” wrote the Pope.

Pope Francis also imparted his Apostolic Blessing upon all those who will participate in his funeral Mass.

Brief biography

According to the official biography released by the Holy See Press Office, Cardinal Felix was was born in Roseau, Dominica, on February 15, 1933. He studied at the St. John Vianney seminary in Trinidad.

He was ordained a priest on April 8, 1956, as the first diocesan priest from Roseau and the first Catholic priest to be ordained in Dominica.

After several years of pastoral work in Dominica, from 1962 he attended St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, where he obtained a degree in education in 1963; in 1967, he completed a Master's degree in sociology and anthropology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

He furthered his postgraduate studies in sociology at the University of Bradford, Yorkshire, England, graduating in 1970. While in England he made great efforts in aid of the Dominican immigrant community.

He has taught at the Seminary of St. John Vianney and has served as professor of Sociology at the University of the West Indies of St. Augustine.

He was appointed as Archbishop of Castries on July 17, 1981, and he received episcopal consecration on October 5 of the same year. His pastoral governance of the diocese continued until February 15, 2008.

The late Cardinal served as president of the Conference of Churches of the Caribbean, president of the Antilles Episcopal Conference and apostolic administrator of the diocese of Bridgetown, Barbados, and as a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the Synod Council for America.

Created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the consistory of February 22, 2014, of the Title of Santa Maria della Salute a Primavalle (Our Lady of Health at Primavalle).