Prime Minister Andrew Holness and one of his predecessors, PJ Patterson, on Friday hailed Bishop Robert Thompson as a devout man of God who always gave his time and talent to the development of Jamaica.

Bishop Thompson, who had retired on August 1, 2019 after 47 years of exceptional service that saw him being invested with the Order of Distinction, Commander Class, passed away on Friday. He was 71.

“Bishop Thompson gave freely his counsel and served the church with both passion and humility. His interaction with everyone was always characterised by sincerity and his impact on Jamaica and on the Christian faith, through the Anglican Church, is undeniable,” Holness said in a statement.

He noted that Bishop Thompson led a vibrant ministry, touching the lives of many congregants and stamping his signature through preaching of the gospel; the advancement and expansion of the ministry; and his commitment to looking after the poor in spirit, the downtrodden, and the less fortunate.

“His compassion for the disadvantaged inspired his role in the formation of the St Andrew Care Centre for Street Boys and the optimisation of the St Andrew Settlement project in Majesty Gardens,” Holness said.

I express my deep sympathies to his family; his wife, children, and grandchildren, as well as to his church family who are at this time mourning a strong man of God,” the prime minister said.

Patterson, who served as Jamaica’s sixth prime minister from 1992 to 2006, said Bishop Thompson’s belief in the Christian faith impelled him to the priesthood, where he rose to the position of Suffragan Bishop of Kingston.

“What was remarkable about his life is the constancy and the extent to which he endeavoured to apply the governing concepts of church theology to the practical impact it would have on making this country a better place, and the extent to which he was prepared to make his time and his skill available through his appointment to national boards as well as his leadership of educational institutions,” Patterson told the Jamaica Observer, adding, “His service to the diocese will never be forgotten.”

An official notice of Thompson’s passing was issued to the Anglican community by Dr Howard Gregory, archbishop of the West Indies and bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

“We share with his widow Charmaine and children Matthew and Joseph, and members of the extended family our sincere condolence on his passing, and offer our prayers for the repose of the soul of Bishop Thompson and for comfort for the bereaved in this their time of loss,” Archbishop Gregory said.

On Friday, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston Kenneth Richards told the Observer that Thompson was not in the best of health in recent weeks.

“I know he was ailing for a while after he and his wife went back into farming in Old Harbour,” Richards said.

He recalled Thompson as a “profound thinker and writer, who had very good ecumenical ties with other Christian communities since his ordination at age 24”.

“His life and service to the church will not be forgotten. He did very well, and now he has been called up by his Lord and Saviour, after a life well lived,” Richards said.

Bishop Thompson was ordained to the Holy Order of deacon in 1973 and ordained a priest in 1974. Upon his ordination he was assigned to St Mary the Virgin on Molynes Road, serving from 1973 to 1978 as assistant curate. After that he was rector at St Jude’s Church, Stony Hill (1978-1990), and later became rector of St Andrew Parish Church from 1990 to 2005.

At his retirement he said, “I’m doing this at the right time… I can laugh at myself, having learnt not to take myself too seriously, because whatever I have achieved over these years there are others to come who will achieve even greater things.”

Originally from Fort William, Westmoreland, Thompson had received his secondary education at Jamaica College. He went on to pursue higher studies at United Theological College of the West Indies, McGill University, Episcopal Divinity School, and Yale University.

He was ordained as the third Anglican Bishop of Kingston in May 2005.

He served on several boards and committees, including the Institute of Jamaica, Kingston College, Jamaica Justice Reform, YMCA, Kingston Restoration Company, and more recently the Police Service Commission.

He was a member of the Provincial Synod of the Church in the Province of the West Indies and served for seven years on the Anglican Consultative Council which facilitates cooperative work among the churches of the worldwide Anglican Communion.