community having to make do with a series of temporary Portugese speaking padres until next year.

The Island has had a resident full-time Portugese speaking priest for the past 25 years, but that ended in July when Fr. Albano Silva returned to Villareal.

The Bishop of Hamilton, the Most Rev. Robert Kurtz, learned last month that due to a lack of priests in Portugal, the Bishop of Angra and the Azores, Dom Antonio Braga, will be unable to send a full time priest to the Island.

Instead, a number of priests will arrive in Bermuda for short periods of time to minister to the almost 2,000 Portugese speaking Catholics on the Island.

Bishop Kurtz said Bishop Braga told him he will supply Bermuda with a full-time priest next June, when ten new clerics will be ordained in Portugal.

Bishop Kurtz told The Royal Gazette : "We've been in contact with Bishop Braga to work out a new appointment, because most of our people are from the Azores.

"We are hoping that since no native Portugese priests will be able to come here permanently, we will be able to get a permanent resident priest from the Azores.

"Bishop Braga says he can't do that until the end of June next year because he has personnel needs, but he will be ordaining ten new priests next year.'' Fr. Joaquim Lopes said mass in Portugese for six weeks until last month when he went to the Catholic University in Angola.

Fr. Jose Moniz from Aqua d'Alto arrived in Bermuda on September 6 and will celebrate mass in Portugese every Sunday until September 26.

Fr Jose Costancia, the Vicar General of Angra, will then arrive to arrange a pastoral programme through December.