Visit of the Anglican Bishop of Chile
By Graham France
The Anglican Bishop of Chile, Bishop Tito, and his wife Myriam arrived in the Falklands on Saturday 6th December and were guests of His Excellency the Governor, Mr Howard Pearce, at Government House. This was Bishop Tito’s second visit to the Islands; he was here two years ago in the company of Bishop Colin Bazeley, the former Bishop of Chile, and Myriam’s first.
The primary purpose of his visit, amongst a busy schedule of engagements, was to conduct the service of Induction of the Reverend Paul Sweeting as Rector of the Parish of the Falkland Islands and Priest-in-Charge of Christ Church Cathedral, and which took place the day after his arrival.
During this, Bishop Tito conducted the service of Confirmation into the Church of England of Helen Davies and Edward Freer, and preached to the large congregation a highly interesting sermon on the mission of Christians.
The Bishop was again in action during the Battle Day service held at the Cathedral also later at the Battle Monument where he gave the Blessing.
On Tuesday, in the company of the Reverend Paul and his wife Maxine, the Bishop and Myriam travelled to Port Louis for the consecration of the new burial ground there.
The opportunity was taken on Thursday to visit areas of the North Camp during which they met members of the community and saw a number of penguin colonies.
Bishop Tito and Myriam, who live in Santiago, have four children: three sons and one daughter named Tito, Pablo, David and Carola. With overall responsibility for the pastoral affairs of Anglicans in Chile, the Bishop, who trained as a pharmacist before turning to God, travels extensively not only in that country but overseas, attending many gatherings of bishops. At a farewell dinner at the Brasserie, hosted by members of the Council of Christ Church Cathedral and Trustees with their spouses, Myriam said this visit was so unlike others, when he usually travelled alone, in that she had been able to accompany her husband and would therefore able to share their memories of the Falklands.
Asked for their impressions of the visit, they said the peacefulness and overall security they felt in the Islands was very significant, also it was wonderful to see the way people greeted each other both in the street and when out driving their cars. They both felt very much at home in the Falklands.
Bishop Tito and Myriam returned to Chile on last Saturday’s LanChile flight and before they left both said how much they hoped to return in the not too distant future.
