-
August 26, 2021By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press
St. Roch Parish in Oxford is planning to assist its sister parish, St. Anne’s in Chardonnieres, Haiti, in rebuilding its main church building – to support the Haitians’ relationship with Jesus.
Father Michael J. Roy, St. Roch’s pastor, wrote in last weekend’s parish bulletin that St. Anne’s pastor, Father Gulber Brutus, of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, was physically unharmed by the earthquake that struck Haiti on Aug. 14. But accompanying photos showed a beautiful St. Anne’s church before the earthquake, destroyed afterwards.
St. Roch’s parishioners are very distraught, and one said, “Every time I think about it, I can’t stop crying,” Father Roy told The Catholic Free Press.
The news and photos of St. Anne’s came from Jean Dupuy, a Haitian native who is president of Hand in Hand for Haiti, a non-profit organization in Worcester. It was formed to continue the education program in the Les Cayes Diocese that was part of the Worcester Diocesan Haitian Apostolate through December 2019. At that time the diocese refocused on its original mission of parish twinning with Haiti.
Mr. Dupuy said Monday that he had talked with Father Brutus, and the priest did not mention any fatalities from his parish.
But, Mr. Dupuy said, some students in Chardonnieres and other places, whom people here sponsor, perished in the earthquake. On Tuesday afternoon he still did not know who.
Penina Paul, who knows the students well and is trying to verify names, told Mr. Dupuy that some died. Ms. Paul, a graduate of the education program, now works with the program from Haiti, sending report cards to sponsors here and distributing backpacks to students there. She covers Chardonnieres, Coteaux, Les Anglais, and Roche-a-Bateau.
Mr. Dupuy said he did not yet know if any of the sponsored students’ schools collapsed. Even if they didn’t, the school year is not likely to start before November, given the problems triggered by the earthquake, he said.
After Hurricane Matthew hit the nation in 2016, Worcester diocesan parishes held a special collection for Haiti. St. Anne’s, which saw much destruction of its main church and mission chapels then, received money to rebuild.
St. Roch’s sent more money for rebuilding after twinning with St. Anne’s in 2017.
According to Mr. Dupuy, Les Cayes’ bishop, Cardinal Chibly Langlois, recently went to St. Anne’s to congratulate Father Brutus, who is being transferred to another parish, for the rebuilding of the church. About a week later, the church was destroyed again – this time by the earthquake.
Father Roy’s letter in St. Roch’s Aug. 22 bulletin quoted part of a letter Father Brutus had sent the parish last December.
“Thanks for your generosity,” it said. “I like you and the Good Lord loves you so much. The roof has been redone and the walls have been finished. We repaired the electricity, and put in six metal doors. You facilitated the return of the faithful to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.”
Father Roy wrote that “the faith is all important for the Haitian people.” He said that in a news article a woman was quoted as saying, “All we have now is Jesus. Jesus is our only hope.”
“We must help our sister parish to rebuild their church, where their relationship with Jesus is fed and made strong,” Father Roy wrote.
All parishes in the Worcester Diocese have been asked to take a second collection for disaster assistance in the Les Cayes Diocese. Father Roy said he would request that the money St. Roch’s collects next weekend be designated for its twin parish, and that money would be added to donations already set aside for St. Anne’s.
Hand in Hand for Haiti is still collecting student backpacks and donations of clothes, masks, hand sanitizer and other useful items, to ship to Haiti when it is possible. Mr. Dupuy asked that donors needing items picked up or wishing to drop them off at 120 Stafford St., Worcester, call him at 401-464-1832 to make arrangements.
To Donate:
https://worcesterdiocese.org/disaster-relief
