As 2025 draws to a close, Catholic priest Father Albert Aaron Smith is urging Saint Lucians to revive an older and deeply meaningful tradition: welcoming the New Year in worship, reflection, and gratitude before God.
His appeal comes in the context of shifting religious patterns on the island, where more citizens are identifying outside traditional Christian denominations.
Father Smith fondly recalled a time when New Year’s Eve meant packed churches across Saint Lucia.
“What you would hear, and what we would see, is that everybody goes to church on Ol’ Year’s night. Churches would not have places to put people. Everyone would go to church,” he said.
In those days, even people who had not attended church regularly throughout the year would make a point to be present. “Whether they have not gone for the whole year, they would find themselves in church,” he added.
He attributed that practice to Saint Lucia’s historic identity as a Christian nation.
“I think that was steeped in the whole concept of us being a Christian nation, of us depending on God,” Father Smith said.
But recent data from Saint Lucia’s 2022 National Census shows a notable shift in religious identification. In 2022, just over half of the population (50.6%) identified as Roman Catholic, a marked decline from earlier decades, while Protestant affiliations also shifted in proportion.
Meanwhile, about 14.1% of residents reported having no religious affiliation despite believing in God, and 0.3% identified as atheists, reflecting a rise in secular or unaligned identities compared with the past.
Father Smith lamented that the tradition of beginning the year in church is now fading.
“What you find now is that this is clearly dying out,” he said. He pointed to changing priorities, noting that many people now turn to celebrations like fireworks displays instead of church services.
“People’s priorities have changed and what you see is that people gather at various points, people line together to witness fireworks,” Father Smith observed.
He expressed concern that the importance of faith in daily life has diminished. “I think people see God as not important, not relevant as before, you know, the dependence on God, you know, that we have lost that tradition,” he said.
Despite these trends, Father Smith underscored the moral and social value of faith as the nation moves into the New Year. He highlighted the timeless guidance of treating others well, echoing a core Christian principle: “Do unto others as you’d like others to do unto you. And if we adhere to that, our country, our families, our workplaces would be better places. We would truly have the backs of each other.”
As Saint Lucians prepare to welcome 2026, Father Smith offered a heartfelt blessing for unity and spiritual renewal. “The Lord be with you and with your spirit. And may Almighty God bless all of us, bless our nation, bless our endeavours.”