Former Bishop Benedict Singh dies

The first Guyana-born Roman Catholic Bishop Benedict Singh passed away Wednesday morning after a prolonged period of illness.

Singh, who was 90 years old at the time of his death, served for more than three decades as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Georgetown.

In announcing his passing, the Roman Catholic Church in Guyana disclosed that the Bishop was admitted to a private hospital week ago suffering from an unspecified illness.

Commemorating his death, current Bishop Francis Alleyne said “I have come to very much appreciate the quiet and formidable strength and resolve of this churchman. This son of the soil has served Church and the nation nobly.”

President David Granger in a statement on Wednesday expressed his condolences to the relatives and friends on the passing of the Bishop.

He was born on December 2, 1927, in Lusignan, Demerara- Mahaica Region, and ordained to the priesthood in 1954 in Rome.

He was the son of Joseph Alexander and Matilda Amanda Singh.

Benedict Singh received his Licentiate in Philosophy from the Urban University, Rome in 1951 and a Doctor of Sacred Theology (STD) from the Pontifical Urban University, Rome in 1957.

He was ordained a priest on December 7, 1954, and served as a Parish Priest in the Diocese of Georgetown from 1957 to 1971. On January 16, 1971, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Georgetown and the Antilles and on April 18, 1971, he was ordained Titular Bishop of Arsennaria, North Africa.

On August 12, 1972, Bishop Singh was ordained Bishop of Georgetown and the Antilles.  After serving for almost five decades, Bishop Benedict Singh retired on November 10, 2003.

Bishop Singh was a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference, 1971 and the Caribbean Conference of Churches, 1971.

In 1993, Bishop Benedict Singh was awarded the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) for service of an exceptionally high quality as an advocate of civil rights and social justice.

Singh then retired in 2003.