Today, our nation bids farewell to one of its finest sons of the cloth, His Grace, The Most Reverend Drexel Wellington Gomez.
His story begins, as so many great Bahamian stories do, in humble beginnings. Born in the Berry Islands, young Drexel moved to New Providence at the age of seven. It was there, at St. Agnes Church on Baillou Hill Road, that his faith took root. Those early years, the hymns sung, the sermons heard, the discipline of parish life, shaped a boy who would one day guide a church and influence generations across the Caribbean.
He was not born into privilege, but into purpose. That purpose carried him from the classrooms of Western Senior to the hallowed halls of Codrington College in Barbados, and later to St. Chad’s College at Durham University. There, a young Bahamian priest in training absorbed the traditions of the Anglican Church, preparing for a life of service that would span nearly six decades.
In 1959, he was ordained a deacon. Two years later, a priest. By 36, he had become Bishop of Barbados, a sign of the respect his wisdom had already earned. But it was when he returned home as Bishop of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands in 1996 that Bahamians truly saw the measure of the man.
He carried himself with quiet authority, never loud, never seeking the spotlight, yet his presence commanded attention. When he spoke, you listened. Not because he demanded it, but because truth and conviction lived in his words.
When he became Archbishop of the Church in the Province of the West Indies, he carried our flag with pride. He chaired global commissions, shaped theological thought, and stood firm in the face of division. But even as his name was spoken in the great cathedrals of the world, his heart remained close to home, to his parish, his people, and his beloved church on Baillou Hill Road.
Archbishop Gomez believed the strength of a church was measured not in its walls but in the compassion of its people. He taught that unity is not the absence of difference, but the presence of love. And he lived that truth until his final days.
For me, and for many Bahamians, Archbishop Gomez was a steady hand and a moral compass. He reminded us that leadership is service, that faith must be lived, and that a man’s greatness is measured by his humility.
To the Anglican family, and to his loved ones, I offer the sympathy of my wife Ann, my family, and the people of The Bahamas. We give thanks for his life, a life that began in the quiet corners of the Berry Islands and stretched across the world, anchored always in faith.