https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzQ2VLACIJY&feature=youtu.be

We Are the

Oratorians of the Port Antonio

The missionary zone entrusted to the Oratorian Fathers is the civil parish of Portland, Jamaica.

We have three Church communities.

We take seriously our mandate to serve.

The missionary zone entrusted to the Oratorian Fathers is the civil parish of Portland, in the northeastern part of the Country. It is the most beautiful and picturesque part of the Island. We have three Church communities: St. Anthony in Port Antonio, which is the Oratory Church; St. Agnes in Buff Bay; and St. George’s in Avocat. St. Agnes supports an infant school and St. George’s supports an elementary and junior high school.  We sit on the school board of both schools entrusted to our care.

The early Jesuits evangelized the area in the mid-1800s. In fact, St. George’s Church and school were founded in 1832/1833.  The Jesuits would later found the two missions which would become St. Anthony and St. Agnes.

The Oratorians took over the territory August 1, 2012. There is dire poverty in the area and the Fathers, with the help of Food for the Poor, have built two outreach centers where we distribute food and clothing.  Once a year, we have a 10-day medical mission.  We take seriously the mandate to feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the sick in the footsteps of St. Philip Neri.

We have various programmes of Evangelisation, especially for the youth, having formed an Oratory focused especially on the youth in our care.

Every Wednesday during the Pastoral year, we have “Evenings at the Oratory” where we provide education and catechesis, following the method of St Philip Neri, and throughout the year we give young adult retreats to bolster the Catholic identity.

Thanks to benefactors we have begun a small orchestra as music is an important tool in the Oratorian tradition and we  have established a honey farm and a chicken egg farm which allows us to train and also to empower our young people

We have a honey farm and a chicken egg-farm which allows us to train and also to empower our young people.

Four of our men have Diocesan responsibilities. Fr. Michael Palud is the Judicial Vicar and Canonist of the Archdiocese; Fr. Samuel Alloggia is the dean of Deanery 5; Father Brad Smith is a Youth Commissioner; and Fr. Roland Dessine is the Diocesan Exorcist.

We do all of this by ourselves. We have no secretaries, accountants or administrative assistants. We do all from a-z. We wash our own clothes, take care of our yard, and we cook for ourselves every weekend…

Thank you so much for visiting!

EWTN: The Church and The Poor
The Oratory of Port Antonio