Stewards Rob & Berni Neal Help Rebuild a Church

St. Ursula’s sits atop the highest hill on the island

Stewards Rob & Berni Neal have vacationed on the beautiful island of Virgin Gorda four times and attend Mass at St. Ursula’s parish while visiting. St. Ursula’s is perched on one of the highest hills on the island, affording magnificent views. This location also plays a key role in emergency preparedness and response. The Neals’ third visit took place the week before Hurricane Irma devastated the island in 2017. The church building was not able to withstand the impact of Irma. The water supply cistern and emergency shelter provisions were compromised. The meeting hall at the bottom of the hill suffered less damage and became the distribution point for the community.

St. Ursula’s under construction

The Neals shared that the resiliency and vibrancy of the St. Ursula’s Catholic community is astounding and that the parish has grown post-hurricane Irma and pandemic. Flyers and invitations to the various events at St. Ursula’s can be found throughout the city.

The parish was without a permanently assigned priest for some time, relying on the lovely commitment of short-term visiting priests. The local bishop and parish are committed to building a new church structure that is poised to better serve the community, temporally and spiritually.

Steward Berni Neal and Springfield, MA priest, Fr. Paul Sinh Trinh

The Neals like to consider themselves “visiting” parishioners of St. Ursula’s, and in complement to their generosity to the Foundation, are providing support to help rebuild the church so that it can return to its role as a shining light on the island’s hilltop!

The Neals provide another beautiful example – much like the stories we have shared in the past year of the efforts of the Fitzgerald, Maguire, Mita, Davis and Bernau families – of Stewards supporting our Christian brothers and sisters outside of the United States.