‘Literally, Flat on the Ground’: Melissa Destroyed or Badly Damaged About 50 Anglican Church Buildings

• About 50 Anglican church buildings were destroyed or had significant roof damage
• Four churches, including St John’s in Black River, were totally destroyed
• Bishop Garth Minott called it unprecedented destruction of historic buildings
• The Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago mounted a relief effort

Days after Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica on October 28, 2025, the Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands was counting the damage to some of the oldest church buildings on the island. The Living Church reported on November 6 that about 50 of the diocese’s church buildings had been destroyed or had significant roof damage.

Four churches were completely destroyed: St John’s Anglican in Black River, St Thomas Anglican in Lacovia, St Luke’s Anglican in Balaclava, and St Thomas Anglican in Bluefields, Westmoreland. “Churches have been destroyed,” said Claudette Marshall, head of missions and ministry in the diocese. “When I say destroyed, literally, flat on the ground.”

The losses included buildings of national importance. “Structures that have stood for hundreds of years, nationally registered structures identified as national treasures, they have all been gone,” the report quoted. It added: “The majority of them have lost roofs. Poles have fallen down on churches. It’s a lot of damage.”

Bishop Garth Minott, the Bishop of Kingston, called it “unprecedented destruction, disaster in terms of our historic buildings,” but made clear that people came first. “We can get to the church building and deal with that,” he said, but not yet. Bishop Claude Berkley said the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago had started a relief effort, asking its parishes and members to help Jamaicans with cash or other donations.

For a denomination whose buildings include some of Jamaica’s oldest public architecture, the damage is both a pastoral crisis and a property crisis. Stone churches that survived two centuries were not built for Category 5 winds, and rebuilding them will mean hard questions about insurance, heritage rules, cost and whether to restore the old or build something new. Jamaicans abroad who were christened or married in these parish churches are likely to be asked to help. Their giving may decide which historic sanctuaries come back and which remain ruins.

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