UPDATED: Former Bishop of Dominica Edward Gilbert passes away

Former Bishop of Dominica Edward Gilbert has died.

Information provided by a Roseau Diocese press release shared that the Most Reverend Edward J. Gilbert, CSsR, JCD, passed away in the early hours of October 16, 2025, which coincides with the Feast of St. Gerard Majella, at St. Alphonsus Villa in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. This facility is managed and owned by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

Born on December 26, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, the statement expressed that Archbishop Gilbert dedicated his life to the service of the Church. He entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) and took his vows on August 2nd, 1959. His theological studies took place at St. Mary’s College Seminary in North East, Pennsylvania, and Mount St.. Alphonsus Seminary in Esopus, New York. He was ordained a priest on June 21st, 1964, and subsequently earned a Doctor of Canon Law degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

It is reported that his early ministry included parish work in Brooklyn from 1968 to 1969. In 1970, he joined the faculty at Mount St. Alphonsus Seminary, where he served until 1984. During this period, he held multiple roles, including professor of Canon Law for fourteen years, academic dean for six years, and seminary rector for another six. In 1984, he was elected Provincial Superior of the Baltimore Province, a leadership position he held until his appointment as a bishop.

On July 1st, 1994, he was nominated as the Bishop of Roseau, and he was consecrated on September 7, 1994. Notably, he was the first bishop to be ordained at Our Lady of Fair Haven Cathedral in Roseau. Later, his ecclesiastical journey led him to Trinidad and Tobago, where he was nominated as the Archbishop of Port of Spain on March 13, 2001. He was installed as the ninth Archbishop of Port of Spain on May 5, 2001, and served in this capacity until his resignation on December 26, 2011. His episcopal leadership followed that of Bishop Arnold Bogeart, who had served as Bishop of Roseau from 1957 to 1993.

During his tenure as the eighth Bishop of Roseau, Gilbert initiated the diocese’s first-ever Diocesan Synod. This comprehensive process involved clergy, religious, and laity from across the island, aiming to reflect on and energize various aspects of church life, fostering renewal and strengthening the diocese’s mission and evangelization efforts.

“As a canonist, he was able to restructure the diocese, as a catechist he taught with clarity, delivering many memorable homilies and sermons and as a Christian he worked to build the Kingdom together with us all. He will be fondly remembered by many Catholics and Dominicans alike,” said the statement.

It continued:

Requiem æternam dona ei, Dómine, et lux perpétua lúceat ei. Requiéscat in pace.

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their works follow them.'”

– Rev. 14:13