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Archbishop Robert Rivas lived his priesthood and episcopal ministry with an unwavering belief that “God is good all the time,” Dominican Prior Father John Harris said yesterday.
Delivering the homily at Rivas’ funeral mass held at St Finbar’s Roman Catholic Church in Diego Martin, Harris said the phrase was among the first words he heard the late archbishop preach and had become a defining feature of his life.
Harris recalled meeting Rivas in the 1980s at a Dominican provincial chapter in Ireland, describing him as a man with a “big voice, big smile, big hands” whose preaching was filled with energy, enthusiasm and joy.
He said Rivas’ Episcopal motto—Vita, Veritas, Via: Way, Truth and Life—reflected the same faith that God’s goodness was present throughout his life.
Rivas, who was born in Lopino Valley in 1946, was shaped by his family, community and devotion to La Divina Pastora.
Harris said his understanding of God’s goodness deepened through his Dominican formation and theological studies in Ireland and Rome.
After returning to Trinidad, Rivas served in several parishes and helped develop a formation programme for Dominicans across the Caribbean.
His ministry took him beyond Trinidad when, in 1989, he was appointed the first Bishop of Kingston, St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Harris said Rivas brought his love of God and people to the role and made God’s goodness a reality in the lives of those he served.
He later served as Apostolic Administrator of Bridgetown, Barbados and Archbishop of Castries, St Lucia.
Harris described Rivas as a “Bishop of the Caribbean”, saying he looked beyond individual islands and dioceses and believed the region’s churches had
