Osmond Peter Martin

Osmond Peter Martin, (December 4, 1930 – February 16, 2017) served from 1983 to 2006 as the third bishop of the Catholic Church for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan.

Early life Osmond Peter Martin was born on December 4, 1930, in Dangriga, Belize. He studied for the Catholic priesthood at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America, and was ordained a priest on April 3, 1959, in his home parish of Sacred Heart in Dangriga. He was assigned to Corozal, then to San Ignacio in the Cayo District. He returned to Corozal to help with the new school, St. Francis Xavier, and subsequently served as pastor at Sacred Heart parish in San Ignacio and St. Joseph parish in Belize City.

Episcopacy Martin was consecrated bishop on October 7, 1982, at St. John's College. Principal consecrator was Bishop Robert Louis Hodapp, S.J., of Belize and co-consecrators were Archbishop Gordon Anthony Pantin, C.S.Sp., of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and Archbishop Samuel Emmanuel Carter, S.J., of Kingston, Jamaica. Martin served as auxiliary bishop until Bishop Hodapp's retirement on November 11, 1983, when he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan with Holy Redeemer in Belize City his home parish. The Diocese had been newly named in recognition of the new capital city of Belmopan. On April 4, 2002, Fr. Dorick M. Wright was ordained to be auxiliary bishop to Martin, and he succeeded Martin to the episcopacy after Martin's retirement November 18, 2006.