On Ash Wednesday 1999, Father Gervais Girod C.S.Sp of the Holy Ghost Fathers was appointed parish priest of St Theresa's Roman Catholic Church in Woodbrook.
A church built by a Dutch Dominican priest, Father Joachim Selbach O.P. in times of financial depression on what had been fallow waste of cane lands converted into the model suburb of Port of Spain and became the district of Woodbrook. Father Selbach, who had come to Trinidad in 1924 and was the parish priest of St Patrick's, Newtown, observed that the increasing population in the area had created a problem as regard church worship and it was obvious that a Catholic church was needed in Woodbrook.
The cornerstone projecting St Theresa of The Child of Jesus was laid on August 1, 1926, by Archbishop John Pius Dowling O.P. and in less than five months the church was ready and blessed on December 26, 1926. That church which now houses the St Theresa's Primary School, was replaced in March 1931 by the church which still stands at the corner of De Vertueil and Warren Streets, because in five short years the congregation had become too large for the original structure.
As the parish celebrates it 75th anniversary, Father Girod has for the past two years undertaken the mammoth task of restoring/refurbishing the seventy year old church with the help of a young architect, Charmaine Solozano-Ward, who with help from Rudylynn De Four-Roberts and Robert Lasheras, has carried out two years of restorative work on the building, most of which was found to be in fairly good condition. Father Girod, a teacher at Fatima College for 25 years where he was also Dean of Studies, is sure that with the help of the Lord, his Fatima boys and girls, parishioners, relatives, friends, and well-wishers, the restoration of St Theresa's will be completed by the end of the year.
A priest for the past thirty-eight years, Father Girod obtained a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in French and English Literature at the University College of Dublin, returned home and taught for two years at St Mary's College, was sent to Laval University in Quebec where he completed a degree in Philosophy and a Master's in Theology before being brought back by Archbishop Count Finbar Ryan to be ordained together with Father De Four here at Rosary Church: "the Cathedral was under repair and it was necessary to set an example through a local ordination to attract other Trinidadians to the priesthood."
On his retirement from teaching, Father Girod became a parish priest for the first time in 1997 at St Patrick's in Newtown where he remained for two years before moving to St Theresa's. "Father Hezekiah was in charge here and Sister Glenda Rodriguez O.P. was, and still is, administrator. Before that I used to say Mass at different parishes and also did a lot of weddings and funerals."
The restoration, which Father Girod had thought would be finished in six months is now past two years. It has taken a little longer than anticipated because as always happens one never knows the extent of the work needed on old buildings until you touch them.
The entire roof had to be changed as the original timber used in this Romanesque designed building was no good. "It is not a modern design" says the young architect "when you think of modern that is the Assumption built in the sixties." St Theresa's walls are made of rubble, and not concrete masonry blocks and steel. " The engineers have checked them and although there is some work to be done, they are structurally sound" explained Solozano-Ward "but because rubble walls moisten and water gets in when rain falls, the paint bubbles so we are going to put a chemical into the wall before we repaint as it is no sense repainting now until we do that chemical treatment."
The enhancement of the sanctuary in the wide and airy church has been fully completed with new and beautiful marble tiles which were specially imported from Italy for the steps leading up to the marble altar as local tiles did not fit in with what was going on historically in the church. Father Girod and Charmaine, the Executive architect, were both saddened by the fact that the marble communion rails which were removed after Vatican II changed the concept of kneeling to standing in order to receive Holy Communion, had been ripped from the concrete tiles in the floor, damaging both the floor and rails. "We had to retile the floor which before Father Girod's arrival had been covered with a carpet to hide the damaged concrete tiles. If we were to use the same concrete tiles it would have taken more than a year for the order to be filled by the lone person in Trinidad and Tobago who makes those tiles. Other alternatives, such as, ceramic, did not match the history of the church."
Since there were two problems to be solved, the floor had to be re- tiled, first to hide the exposed cords and wires of the public address system and secondly to cover the gash in the floor where the rails had been ripped out. Still to be replaced in the new sanctuary is a new crucifix donated by relatives of Father Girod, while the priest's lectern which matches other pieces of furniture given to the church, will be refurbished. "We are not discarding any gifts which are still matching." Two pieces of the marble altar rails have been used at the Blessed Sacrament altar in remembrance of the old church. The pews have already been refurbished with new kneelers.
And as phase 2 of the restoration starts, the windows and doors are to be changed: "Somewhere along the line the windows introduced were not part of the original design so we are trying to put back what is in keeping with the original" says Charmaine. Also the wood of the clerestorey (akin to large skylight) windows is rotten and has to be replaced with steel; and the outside and inside of the church will be painted. The entire 'work' has been funded through the generosity of personal friends "as we go along" says Father Girod.
Since the bell tower is structurally heavier than the church, it can now be likened to the leaning tower of Pisa, and has caused cracks in the upper walls of church but "parishioners need not fear as the engineers have checked it all to see that nothing is falling down on anybody but it will have to be redone" says Charmaine as she went on to explain that "St Theresa's was built on sediment land so there is still a settling of the land which has a high water table so the land is not solid, is still moving and will always move."
And although the church has been rewired to meet correct standards, the Electrical system has not been approved as the powers-that-be have decided that the church, school and Convent (next door) must all three be rewired before approval is given. Undeterred, Father Girod has pressed on with all that needs to be done, trusting in the good Lord to send money so urgently needed, and is positive that the rest will come through kind corporate and other citizens.
Father Girod is also Chaplain at the Holy Name Convent School, Providence Secondary, and St Theresa's and Maria Regina.