By OSWALD T. BROWN
NASSAU, Bahamas, May 4, 2019 — Today marks the 15th anniversary of His Grace Archbishop Patrick Pinder’s installation as Archbishop of Nassau.
As I noted in a previous Facebook post, I had the good fortune of being among a group of devout Roman Catholics who accompanied Archbishop Pinder to Rome to receive the Pallium from the Holy Father Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica on June 29, 2004. At the time, I was Editor of the Freeport News and was extended all the press privileges provided by the Vatican for the occasion.
I still have my STAMPA (Press Pass) as one of my cherished memorabilia. Because I was officially accredited as a member of the working press, I was seated in the area reserved for the press, just behind the section reserved for Cardinals and other high-ranking Vatican officials, and had a good view of His Grace when knelt before the Holy Father to receive the Pallium. It was an experience that I shall never forget, as tears overflowed from my eyes and streamed down my face.
As I sat there trying to compose myself, one of the Vatican’s security guards tapped me on the shoulder and said, “I hear you are from The Bahamas. Do you know Mario Donato? He is my boyhood friend and he now lives in Bahamas.”
“Of course I do,” I replied. “He’s a very good friend of mine.”
Mario Donato was — and still is — a very good friend, although I have not seen him in a long time
As one of Grand Bahama’s most successful businessmen, Mario and I became friends in the early 1990s during my first tenure as Editor of the Freeport News. He was at one time owner of the Xanadu Beach Hotel, which was previously owned by American billionaire recluse Howard Hughes and became internationally known when Hughes used it as his “hideout” for several years.
Mario also owned the Royal Palms Resort & Suites in Freeport, which closed in November of 2009, and once owned a car rental company. During my visits to Freeport back then, because of our friendship, I received very reasonable rates on my car rentals.
When Mario owned the Xanadu Beach Hotel, which had several excellent restaurants, and I went there for dinner or lunch, when I asked for my cheque, my waiter sometimes informed me that Mr. Donato had “taken care of it.”
So, when the Vatican security guard asked me if I knew Mario Donato, I was a bit surprised that he also knew Mario. He invited me to dinner that evening at a hotel near the Vatican, and told me wonderful stories of how he and Mario used to “get into trouble” growing up.
We had a wonderful evening sharing stories about Mario and our personal lives, and I am so ashamed that I can’t remember his name. However, when I returned to Freeport and told that story to Mario, he likewise recalled the “mischief” he and his friend used to get into in Italy.
The story making the rounds in Freeport back when I first met Mario was that he came to Freeport not as an investor, but actually while employed on a cruise ship and recognized the potential opportunities that existed in Freeport for him to change the trajectory of his life. He was obviously a very smart individual with a good understanding of financial matters, and the nascent status of Freeport’s development at the time was perfect for an ambitious, young white man with good ideas.
Indeed, even though he may not have had the necessary investment capital when he made his decision to make Freeport his home, at the time Freeport was a racist enlave, in which the predominantly black residents of Grand Bahama to a great extent were discouraged from living within the boundaries of what was once a pine forest that was being quickly developed into a city.
Mario Donato, based on my knowledge of him, does not have a “racist bone” in his body, but he took advantage of the existing opportunities, met the right people, and used his business acumen into become a millionaire.
When I met his boyhood friend in Italy, he was well aware of Mario’s achievements in his “new country” and spoke highly of his determination and drive to become successful in life.
Coincidentally, several days ago my Facebook friend Ta’Shar Cuccurullo posted a Facebook Memories photo that she originally posted on May 3, 2014, which was actually taken 21 years ago in 1998, of Mario with Donald Ward and his wife Yvonne and Jillian Bartlett and her then husband John Heath, who owns a jewelry store in Freeport.
I initially started to write this article just to wish His Grace Archbishop Patrick Pinder Happy Anniversary; however, I digressed into discussing the amazing experiences I had on my trip with the group that accompanied him to Rome, and meeting Mario Donato’s boyhood friend was unquestionably one of the highlights of that trip.
We spent about a week in Rome that included a day tour to Assisi, which is historically associated with one of the most venerated religious icons in Roman Catholic history, Saint Francis of Assisi.
Happy Anniversary Archbishop Pinder and may the Good Lord continue to bless you abundantly.
