Twinning parishes suffer losses

By Bill Doyle
CFP Correspondent

For 20 years, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Hopedale has twinned with St. Gerard Church in Pont Salmon, Haiti, erecting schools, chapels and other buildings, and providing $900 a month for much needed financial support.
On Saturday, Father William C. Konicki, Sacred Heart pastor for the last 21 years, learned that St. Gerard was demolished by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.
Father Claude Renel Elysee, St. Gerard pastor, emailed Sacred Heart photos of the church and parish center, both of which had collapsed. Sacred Heart helped build the parish center.
“I’m just heartbroken,” Father Konicki said. “For all the work that Haiti has been trying to do and we’ve been supporting them with, it’s just been one step forward and four steps backwards.”
Upon hearing about the earthquake Bishop McManus said, “I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear about the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti this past week. Its epicenter was the city of Les Cayes, which is the episcopal center of the Diocese of Les Cayes, which is the ‘Sister Diocese’ of the Diocese of Worcester. I was also very disturbed to learn that the bishop of Les Cayes, Cardinal Chibly Langlois, whom I know very well, was hurt in the earthquake. I ask you to keep Cardinal Langlois, the people of the Diocese of Les Cayes and all Haitians in your prayers.”  
The earthquake struck the southwestern section of the hemisphere’s poorest nation, leaving more than 1,400 people dead, at least 6,900 injured and thousands more displaced from their homes, according to Haiti’s civil protection agency.
Tropical Storm Grace hit Haiti late Monday night and caused flooding and landslides.
Some tens of thousands of residents of southern Haiti are living out in the open following the quake, centered about 80 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The cities of Jérémie and Les Cayes were most affected, according to a Catholic News Service story by Tom Tracy.     
CNS reports that the major road connecting Les Cayes to Jérémie is impassable due to landslides and cracks on the road. The quake also leveled homes, leaving thousands without shelter. Countless others are injured, and hospitals are already overwhelmed, according to staff at Catholic Relief Services, which has extensive operations in Haiti.

SITUATION IS DIRE

On Tuesday, Father Konicki heard from Pouchon Amazon, a Haitian he knows who graduated from UMass-Lowell last year. Amazon’s mother, siblings and friends still live in Haiti.
“He said the situation is dire,” said Pam Chaplin, Sacred Heart ministry and operations manager.  “Not only are people unable to sleep in their homes, but now they cannot sleep on the soccer field because of the water from the storm.”
The rectory that Sacred Heart built at St. Gerard is still standing so Father Elysse still has a roof over his head, but Sacred Heart doesn’t know if the chapels that Sacred Heart built are standing or damaged.
The 2010 earthquake that hit Haiti spared St. Gerard, but the parish wasn’t as fortunate this time, although Sacred Heart has not heard of any deaths in the parish.
“It’s like we’re starting all over again,” Father Konicki said, “but we’re not going to give up.”
Father Konicki said Sacred Heart is committed to help St. Gerard rebuild, although it won’t be easy.

SECOND COLLECTION

Bishop McManus called on all parishes in the Diocese of Worcester to hold a second collection as soon as possible to support the Haitian people devastated by the earthquake. Many of the twinning parishes have already established special collections for the people.
Bishop McManus noted in his letter that the Diocese of Worcester has had a covenant of support with the Diocese of Les Cayes for more than 30 years. “Eight of our parishes support twin parishes in Les Cayes. In their tremendous need, our fellow Catholics in Les Cayes need the help of us all at this tragic time,” he wrote.
In 2017, Cardinal Chibly Langlois of Les Cayes and Bishop McManus met in Worcester to sign a covenant of solidarity between the two dioceses, renewing a twinning relationship. 
Father Konicki hopes more U.S. bishops will request support from their dioceses.
“It is a Catholic country,” Father Konicki said of Haiti, “but even if it weren’t Catholic, we have a responsibility to help our brothers and sisters wherever they are.”
Father Konicki lived in Les Cayes for seven years and opened a mission house there in 1996 next to the bishop’s residence, which collapsed Saturday during the earthquake. Cardinal Langlois sustained arm and leg injuries, a priest and three staff members were killed, the diocese has learned.
Father Konicki would like people to pray for a successful search for survivors and to encourage the U.S. government to offer assistance.
 
CHRIST THE KING PARISH

Voice of America reported that 18 people, assembled for a baptism, were killed in the Immaculate Conception Parish church of Les Anglais. Christ the King Parish of Worcester donates $700 a month to Notre Dame du Lourdes School, which is administered by Immaculate Conception Parish in Les Anglais.
 “Horrible,” said Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, Christ the King pastor. “That’s really catastrophic for them.”
Msgr. Sullivan said he hadn’t heard if the school suffered any damage. He emailed the pastor of Immaculate Conception, Father Wilson Exantus Andre, to check on him and his parishioners, but hasn’t yet heard back from him.
In addition to conducting a special collection, Msgr. Sullivan said he would discuss with his church’s Haiti committee and his parish council about making another donation from its Legacy of Hope funds.
“The problem is going to be a problem for a while,” Msgr. Sullivan said. “It’s not going to go away tomorrow.”

ST. GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL

A post on the St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish Facebook page says the earthquake in Haiti was “almost a direct hit to our twin parish St. Anne in Sucrerie Henry.”
The post linked to a report published online in a blog authored by Alice Gentili, a member of the parish’s Haiti Committee. St. Gabriel’s pastor, Father Laurence V. Brault, is also listed as a member of the committee. The report said that St. Anne sustained significant damage to its church, rectory, school and clinic.
“We do not yet have information about the seven chapels,” the report says. “As of this writing, there are no casualties in the parish, but there are many injured people. None of the buildings are safe to be occupied, and the pastor, Father (Pere) Joseph Didier, has been sleeping in his car.”
Father Didier sent the parish photos and video of the damaged buildings. The committee has launched a campaign to raise money for the immediate needs of the St. Anne community, according to the posting on the blog “Mona Lisa Lives Here.”
“At this time, Pere Didier and the St. Anne Parish Council are working through their shock to assess the needs of the parish community. They will report back to us once they can formulate a list. In the meantime, we know there are many immediate medical, housing, food, and sanitation needs. We know the buildings that have been damaged cannot be occupied in their current state,” the report says.

WORKED IN HAITI

Retired Deacon Peter Faford and his wife, Linda, both of Charlton, worked on assignment for the Worcester Diocese in Les Cayes for a year and a half, and afterwards they worked at Pwoje Espwa Sud, an orphanage in Les Cayes. They were there during the 2010 earthquake. The orphanage suffered some structural damage last weekend and 11 years ago. In 2010 an influx of youths from devastated Port-au-Prince boosted occupancy from 620 to 900, Mrs. Faford said.
She remembers in 2010 the hospitals becoming overcrowded, doctors arriving from all over the world, and people pitching tents in the streets because of fear that the roofs of their homes would crash upon them.
Deacon Faford said the collapsing of tin and straw roofs last weekend must have caused fewer deaths than heavier roofs would have, but many homes aren’t built strong enough to withstand earthquakes or hurricanes. When he was project manager at Espwa, he built monolithic domes, reinforced concrete structures to withstand natural disasters. According to reports from Overture International, which took over the project in 2020 and transitioned Espwa from an orphanage to a child development and family strengthening center, “the Overture/ESPWA domes are not showing any damage! So, there are a number of safe places in which the community can shelter.”
Over the last few days, Mrs. Faford has talked by FaceTime with former residents and workers at the orphanage who told her that the only road into Les Cayes is unpassable, preventing the delivery of food, water and medicine.
She said after the earthquake on Saturday people slept in a cornfield in hope of being safe, but thunder, lightning and rain hit, leaving them with nowhere to go.
After the 2010 earthquake, Peter Faford saw many Haitians stand in the streets and hold signs urging the U.S. to take over the country. Now he believes that a French speaking country, such as Canada, should work with the French speaking Haitians and the United Nations to take ownership of the country for a set number of years and bring in its education, banking, justice and court systems. Deacon Faford said few Haitians pay taxes because they believe the government is corrupt. As a result, they don’t receive a lot of services from the government. He believes Haitians would pay taxes to a government they trust. 
“Haiti will change when the Haitians change their hearts,” he said. “There will be a change in Haiti when the Haitians want to do it.”
Len Gengel of Rutland reported on Facebook that the Be like Brit orphanage, built in memory of his daughter, Brittany, who died in the 2010 earthquake, survived the quake intact and that no one was injured.


Bishop McManus sent the following letter to priests of the Diocese of Worcester asking them to hold a special collection in the coming weeks for the people of Haiti. 
  He wrote: “As you know the epicenter of last weekend’s earthquake in Haiti was in Les Cayes, a diocese with which we have had a long association. Hundreds were killed when the quake struck. Many more are injured, missing and homeless. Cardinal Chibly Langlois was injured when his residence collapsed. One of his priests was killed and it is reported that several children were killed during a baptism. This impoverished nation was still struggling from the deaths of more than 100,000 people in the calamitous 2010 earthquake when the latest earthquake struck. 
“For more than 30 years the Diocese of Worcester has had a covenant of support with the Diocese of Les Cayes. Eight of our parishes support twin parishes in Les Cayes.  In their tremendous need, our fellow Catholics in Les Cayes need the help of us all at this tragic time. 
“I am asking all parishes in the Diocese of Worcester to take up a second collection as soon as possible for disaster assistance in the Diocese of Les Cayes. 
“I am very grateful for all you are doing for the people of your parish and for the generosity of your parish to so many in need in our own diocese and in our covenant Diocese of Les Cayes.” 
The bishop noted that the diocesan finance office will report on the amount of the collection and where it was distributed in the fall.

TO DONATE

Several parishes that are among those that twin with parishes and schools in Haiti have already established collections for their twinning parish. And Bishop McManus is asking all parishes to take up a collection.
Catholic News Service has complied a list of agencies that are also accepting donations to assist with their emergency response to the Haiti earthquake. They include:

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Catholic Relief Services online: crs.org; by phone: 877-435-7277 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern; by mail:
P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, Maryland, 21297-0303.

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Catholic Medical Mission Board: cmmb.org/campaign/hearts-broken-for-haiti-august-2021.

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CAFOD, the Catholic aid agency for England and Wales: cafod.org.uk/News/Emergencies-news/Haiti-earthquake.

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Caritas Internationalis: caritas.org/donate-now/haiti-earthquake-2021.

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AVSI, the Italian humanitarian relief and development organization: donorbox.org/haiti-earthquake-emergency.

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Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami: ccadm.org.

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Cross Catholic Outreach: crosscatholic.org.

– Food for the Poor: www.foodforthepoor.org.

– Development and Peace/Caritas Canada: https://bit.ly/3klgjXB