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The Hermitage Review
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The Hermitage
- Category: Religious Sites, Memorials/Monuments
- Location: Cat Island
Fodor's Review:
At the top of 206-foot Mt. Alvernia, The Hermitage is the final resting place of Father Jerome. Above the tomb's entrance, carved in stone, is the epitaph blessed are the dead who die in the lord, and inside, past the wooden gate that hangs on its hinges, his body lies interred. He died in 1956 at the age of 80 and was supposedly buried with his arms outstretched, in a pose resembling that of the crucified Christ.
Father Jerome, born John Hawes, traveled the world and eventually settled in the Bahamas. An Anglican who converted to Roman Catholicism, he built two churches, St. Paul's and St. Peter's, in Clarence Town, Long Island, as well as the St. Augustine Monastery in Nassau. He retired to Cat Island to live out his last dozen years as a hermit, and his final, supreme act of religious dedication was to carve the steps up to the top of Mt. Alvernia. Along the way, he also carved the 12 Stations of the Cross. At the summit, he built a child-size abbey with a small chapel, a conical bell tower, and living quarters comprising three closet-size rooms.
The pilgrimage to the Hermitage begins next to the commissioner's office at New Bight, at a dirt path that leads to the foot of Mt. Alvernia. Try not to miss the slightly laborious experience of climbing to the top. The Hermitage provides a perfect, inspired place to pause for quiet contemplation. It also has glorious views of the ocean on both sides of the island. A caretaker clears the weeds around the tomb -- which islanders regard as a shrine -- and lights a candle in Father Jerome's memory.
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