The Catholic Community of the Diocese of St. George’s, Grenada, and in particular the people of Petite Martinique and Carriacou joyfully announce the forthcoming ordination of Deacon Hugh K. Logan to the priesthood.

The ordination will take place on Saturday 16th August, 2008. Being that Deacon Hugh will be the first priest from Petite Martinique, the ordination will be an historical event; therefore, his ordination will be held on his home island of Petite Martinique. There is great excitement among Petite Martiniquans and the Catholic community as we prepare for this historical event. The occasion of the ordination of Deacon Hugh to the priesthood will be one with a difference in that it is planned to incorporate the different aspects of our traditional wedding ceremony into the event. As the saying goes “an ordination is itself a wedding” whereby Deacon Hugh will be ‘married’ to the Church.

The following is an extract taken from the article “Petite Martinique: A most unique and charming tiny island of seafaring souls” from the magazine Caribbean Land Falls Vol. 3 No. 3: A free quarterly magazine for visitors and sailors about the islands of the Eastern Caribbean.

“Weddings in Petite Martinique are quite an extraordinary ritual and often very extravagant as they are steeped in tradition. The customary wedding encompasses six cultural events. It all starts when flags (usually red)which are raised at the homes of the groom, the bride and immediate relatives. At this time the prolific baking of cakes begins. The groom’s cakes are baked first. Women from the community get together and pitch in with great enthusiasm. “Hip, hip, hip,” with a reprise of “hurrah!” is often heard throughout the village when the ladies of Petite Martinique are baking wedding cakes. With recipes handed down from generation to generation, the cakes are made according to tradition; some are still baked in locally made clay ovens. It is considered normal for twenty pounds of cake to be made for the wedding. In fact, the cakes are the big feature of the whole wedding process.

Starting early the morning of the wedding a ceremony of cake and flag dancing begins. The groom’s family and friends and the bride’s entourage assemble at their respective homes then both the groom and the bride, along with accompanying string band parade through the streets to a predetermined place where the dancing begins. Along the way the group sings and dances merrily led by a man carrying the flag. When both groups meet up, the two parties dance with each other. This event symbolizes the joining of the two families.

In Petite Martinique, a marriage is the unity of two families as well as the two getting married. Later, the group forms a circle for the cake and flag dancing. The dancer with the groom’s flag makes every effort to keep his flag above the bride’s flag. This symbolizes the groom is the head of the home. At the end of the dance the bride’s flag is placed under the groom’s flag on a single pole, again symbolizing the groom is the head of the union and the two are one. Next the ladies go on stage. Each holding the respective bride and groom’s cakes, the groom’s dancer again tries to keep her cake above the bride’s cake while being challenged by the bride’s cake dancer.

When the dancing is over, all go to the wedding reception venues for more merriment and socializing. The actual church wedding takes place at three in the afternoon. Tradition dictates that both the groom and the bride must walk to the church no matter how far. The groom now dressed for the wedding ceremony, along with the best man, family and friends parade to the church on foot accompanied by his string band. The bride’s father, bridesmaids and groomsmen will escort her by foot to the church as well. The Church ceremony then begins.”