Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter

A church member throws herself on the floor of St. Jude's Anglican Church in Stony Hill, St. Andrew, yesterday, after hearing news that Father Richard Johnson, the priest of that church, was murdered at his home Sunday night. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

When the Reverend Father Richard Johnson faced his congregation from the pulpit at St. Jude's Anglican Church in Stony Hill, St. Andrew, on Sunday morning, he had a fire in his eyes that many had never seen before. Members of the congregation say his sermon, which would be his last, was one of the most inspiring, passion-filled messages they had ever heard.

Father Johnson was brutally killed at the rectory where he lived, less than a mile from the church, about 9:30 that night. The main suspect in the killing, a man known only as 'Bomber', turned himself in to the police late yesterday and was being questioned by senior detectives. The Constant Spring Homicide Unit reported that on Sunday night, a caretaker at the house heard Father Johnson screaming for help. When the caretaker ran into the house, he found the clergyman's body on the staircase, with a number of stab wounds all over.

Yesterday, Anglican priests from across the country gathered at the church to talk about the murder.

"It's just horrible. He was such a kind, gentle man who had a passion for helping others. It is really very sad," said Father Peter D. Clarke, who worked closely with Father Johnson for several years. He shook his head slowly as he spoke, his eyes distant. "It will be very difficult to replace someone like that."

But it was what many regarded as a hint of prophecy in the rector's final sermon that seemed to dominate discussion at the church. "He spoke about love, forgiveness and equality. But it was his delivery which many are saying was significant," said Father Clarke.

A church member present at Sunday's service said it was like Dr. Martin Luther King preaching about being to the mountain top just before his assassination. "It was like Father Johnson knew what was going to happen and was telling his congregation," the man said, staring at the ground.

Yesterday, the lights were still on inside Father Johnson's house and his car was still parked in the carport.

About a year and a half ago, Father Johnson was held up at gunpoint at the same house by about four men. He was kicked, beaten and robbed. "But he didn't dwell on it. He just kept on doing his work," a church member said.

Father Johnson, who was 45 years-old, had served at St. Jude's since 2003. Prior to that, he ministered at St. Michael's in Kingston, and Gilnock in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth. A graduate of the United Theological College of the West Indies, he was ordained a priest in 1992. He was married to the principal of a prominent high school in St. Ann. She was not at the home when the murder took place.

In describing the priest's death as a "terrible tragedy," the Bishop of Jamaica, the Rt. Revd. Dr. Alfred Reid, recorded "the Church's gratitude to God for Fr. Johnson's faithful, compassionate and effective ministry in the places where he ministered as also for his labours on behalf of the Diocese which he served over the past 15 years."