Restorers of Our Shrine 2004 - 2016

Meet the Priests

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REV. FR. STEVE DUNCAN

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Born and raised in Delaford, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago, Rev. Fr. Steve Duncan received his theological formation at the Regional Seminary of St. John Vianney and the Ugandan Martyrs, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad. He holds a B. A. (Honours) Degree in Theology from the University of the West Indies.

On December 18, 2004, Fr. Steve was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Port-of- Spain. He is the first Catholic priest to be ordained in Tobago, and the second of two Catholic priests from Tobago. He is also the first Diocesan priest from Tobago.

His first parish was that of Our Lady of Montserrat, Tortuga, on the island of Trinidad to which he was appointed as a transitional Deacon from June, 2004. After his ordination in December of that year, he remained and served as the appointed Parish Priest from January, 2005 to September, 2012.

In July, 2009, while serving as the Spiritual Director of a pilgrimage to Portugal, Spain and France, with the main aim of discovering the roots of the Church of Our Lady of Montserrat, Spain, Fr. Steve made a request of Our Lady of Montserrat, asking her to allow him to remain a further three (3) years in the parish so that he can have some time to work towards elevating the village Church of the same name in Tortuga, to Shrine status. On his return to Trinidad, Fr. Steve followed through with his promise to Our Lady (which was actually made while ascending Montserrat mountatins in Spain and reiterated while he venerated the original image of Our Lady there) and invited interested parishioners to be part of a Committee that would help him actualize this promise……

The Shrine Committee is now experiencing the fulfilment of Father Steve’s promise….  Since being commissioned on January 26, 2010, the committee has implemented several projects under Father Steve’s spiritual guidance a few of which are listed below.

  • Repainting of the church
  • Paving of the church yard
  • Fortnightly maintenance of the cemetery and environs
  • Afternoon Tea with Our Lady Fundraiser in May of each year
  • Advent Christmas Carol Service in December of every other year
  • Formalization as a Shrine of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain
  • Listing as a Heritage Site on the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago

Fr. Steve was appointed Parish Priest of St. Joseph, Scarborough, in October, 2012, and Regional Episcopal Vicar of Tobago on April 1st, 2013.

From September 01, 2016, he was appointed Moderator of the Santa Rosa/Malabar cluster within the Eastern Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain and effective, January 06, 2017, was appointed Associate Vicar for Clergy.  He has been the featured speaker at Conferences, Rallies, Crusades and Retreats in Trinidad and Tobago, the English and Dutch Caribbean Region, Miami, Florida, and Halifax, Canada.

Rev. Father Alan Hall

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Father Alan Pieter Hall was born on 29th June. His parents are Ralph and Yvonne Hall and he is the eldest of three children. He grew up on Mooneram Street, St. James.

He attended Mucurapo Boys R.C and after finishing Trinity College, he worked at McEnearney Business Machines (MBM). While not considering himself overly religious, he frequented midday Mass at Sacred Heart Church, which was two buildings down from his office. At that time, Msgr Allan Ventour was the Cathedral Administrator.

Many Priests inspired him along his journey, in different way, but he said it took French Priest to help him recognize his calling.

Fr.Alan attended directed Vocation Retreat under the guidance of then Vocations Director, Fr. Michael Moses. He explains that is was at a Choice weekend he made the decision. He spend one Semester at the Pre-Seminary and by August 2004 was admitted to the Regional Seminary. He considered joining an Order, like the Carmelites, but through the guidance of his then Spiritual Director, Fr.Luis Gutierrez of the Opus Dei Prelature, he opted to become a Diocesan Priest instead.

His mother, who always watched EWTN channel accepted his decision, as did his father and he obtained full support from the rest of his family.

Fr.Alan speaks fluent French, Spanish, German and Italian. His favourite colour is Green, he enjoys a good ‘Harvest Lime’ and has a healthy appetite.

Fr.Alan Hall was ordained as a Priest on the 18th December 2010. After his Ordination, he was assigned as the Assistant Parish Priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, San Fernando and in October 2012 he was appointed by Archbishop Joseph Harris to be the Parish Priest at Our Lady of Montserrat, Tortuga.

Father Alan succeeded Father Duncan as parish priest of Our Lady of Montserrat Parish in October 2012. He familiarity with the parish gained during his final year as a seminarian when he worked in the parish served to energise our relationships and projects. As his predecessor, he became an active part in the work of the Shrine Committee leveraging his deep and profound relationship with Our Lady to spiritually guide the work of the team. His fluency in various languages enhanced the ‘Afternoon Tea with Our Lady’ Masses done in both French and Spanish in consecutive years and aided in the hosting of the French Ambassador and his wife who frequently attended our celebrations. Under Father Alan’s leadership, the seed planted by Father Duncan was allowed to grow and flourish and his four years as priest was a dynamic and energetic growth period for the committee. Father Alan was moved to L the Shrine of La Divina Pastora in Siparia in September 2016. He was succeeded by Father Jose Marie.