Sunday Mass and reception on June 4 was celebrated Caribbean style

Fr. Jeffrey M. Ott, O.P, pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes in Atlanta, GA., was our guest Mass celebrant, and Mickey Mills (in the photo above) added a Caribbean rhythm to our hymns, with his steel pan, a musical instrument created from a oil drum that is cut to size (or left whole), and tuned to be a tenor or base pan.

Originally from Trinidad and now living locally, Mr. Mills has been in the Carolinas for many years, and goes to local schools to educate students about the history of the pan and teaching them the art of playing it. This type of music is very popular in the Caribbean. After Mass, the Holy Cross Caribbean community served a delicious luncheon featuring Caribbean cuisine. 

Parish Connection: This liturgy is celebrated annually in loving memory of the late Dr. Norman Cordice, DDS, and in celebration of the his rich Caribbean heritage. It is hosted by Holy Cross parishioners with Caribbean ancestry.

The first Holy Cross Mass was celebrated on December 5, 1939, at Dr. Cordice's dental office, for what was the beginning of the history of Holy Cross Catholic Church. He is credited as an early organizer and founding member of this church. 

Dr. Cordice was born in St. Vincent, West Indies, and came to the United States when he was a teenager. He attended medical school at Meharry University, Nashville, Tenn., before he came to Durham and opened his practice. His exemplary work and Christian devotion set him apart as a church and community leader in Durham. Dr. Cordis was a faithful member of Holy Cross from 1939 until his death in 1987. — Content provided by parishioner Gemma Harris.

The Caribbean is home to 17 sovereign island nations: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago (on the continental shelf of South America).

> Note: The Caribbean region includes more than 7,000 islands, islets, and keys in total. Although the majority of these are tiny and uninhabited, most Caribbean countries are nonetheless a collection of multiple islands (a scenario also common in Oceania). Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/caribbean-countries