On January 17-20th, three young adults from Holy Name traveled to Fort Liberte to visit Our Lady of Altagrace. They experienced the Haitian culture and made many new friends with the people of Our Lady of Altagrace. Below is a daily recap of what they saw and what they experienced.
Day 1
Flying into Cap-Haitien, Matt, Ben, and George were met by the pastor of Our Lady of Altagrace, Fr. Enorce Brunot. From there, they made the hour long drive from the airport to the city of Fort Liberte. The three of them will never complain of pot holes ever again. Upon arriving, they had dinner with Bishop Quensel Alphonse, the fourth bishop of Forte Liberte.
After a goodnight’s rest, the group from Holy Name was ready for their first full day in Fort Liberte. The day began with a visit to the Cathedral of St. Joseph. The Cathedral is located right at the heart of the city and has been the Cathedral of the diocese since its creation in 1991.
Next door to the Cathedral is 95.7 FM Word of Life radio. This station is owned and operated by the Diocese of Fort Liberte. It provides 24/7 programming that ranges from worship music and Scripture study to talk shows and teachings. The bishop sees this as spiritual enrichment for those who cannot travel and outreach that allows others learn more about their faith.
While visiting the station, Matt was asked to appear live on the radio. He was asked how they were enjoying the trip and assured the people of Fort Liberte the continued commitment of us in the Gary Diocese. He also received the thankfulness form the bishop for the donations Holy Name and other churches made to help with much need upgrades. Having inconsistent power is an issue throughout Haiti. With the donations, they purchased solar panels and batteries so they do not have to rely on the power grid.
The next stop was to Fort Liberte, the place which the city gets its name from. Here, our group learned some of the history of the area. Located right off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, it was established as a Spanish city then later taken over by France until Haiti became independent 1803.
The group then visited St. Don Bosco Technical School, run by the Salesian Fathers (a religious order). This is similar to our version of a college/trade school. On their campus is also a primary school (preschool-6th). The professional school has a wide variety of classes. These include gardens and chickens for learning agriculture, classrooms for nursing (the only nursing program in Haiti), carpentry, electrical, just to name a few. We also ran across students learning how to fix a pipe for a plumbing class. While not seeing concrete numbers, our guides said nursing school costs about 8,000 Gourdes ($80 USD) per year. Most of the students commute to classes but there are a few residence halls.
Not too far down the road was the parish Our Lady of Lourdes. The original church was built at the very top of a small hill. Due to the increase in church members, they needed to expanded to a larger building which they did at the bottom of the hill. When our group arrived, we were surprised to see people spilling out into the streets and area surrounding the church. It was early on a Saturday afternoon so this was not a typical weekend Mass. The guide informed us a funeral was taking place and this was a common turn out size. When one person passes away, the whole village comes to mourn. It was quite a breath taking site to see hundreds of people streaming out of the church following the coffin.
After the church emptied out, our group went inside. The Blessed Virgin Mary is held in very high regard in Haiti. Not only are many churches dedicated to her, but the whole diocese is dedicated to the intercession of Our Lady of Consolation. This is interestingly enough, the title of the picture hanging up near the side door at Holy Name. Every year, several thousand Haitians come to Our Lady of Consolation for a special outdoor Mass and celebration.
The last stop of the day was to the area of a future housing project. Scattered throughout the area where housing projects built by the government. To a smaller extent, churches has even built some housing projects as well. The way the projects work is, the government builds the housing and allows people to move in right away. The new tenants have to pay off the price as best they can. Once it is fully payed off, the house is theirs.
The site we visited is one of the future housing projects. Before building the houses, they are putting in a hydropower plant on the river. Many places get solar panels so they do not have to rely on the grid. This was evident by some of the other housing projects which had solar panels on every house. Once the hydropower plant is built, the houses will then be constructed.
Day 2
The parish of Our Lady of Altagrace is run by Fr. Enorce Brunot. Starting out as a chapel, it officially became a parish 6 years ago when Fr. Enorce arrived. Our group attended Mass with the community. They were warmly greeted and Matt got to address the congregation at the end of Mass.
Aside from being the center of worship for the community, Our Lady of Altagrace serves many essential functions. On their property, they have a small store that sells items one would find in a convenience store. This makes it easier for people from the village to get supplies without having to travel to the next major city. They also buy the items for a little less than they would pay in the city. Next to the store is a food bank with plans of opening a pharmacy in the same building as well.
The parish has two school building which have 227 kids enrolled from pre-school to 6th grade. Our group was amazed to see the small kitchen that is smaller than an average American bedroom with one stove which is used to feed the children every day. The cost for one year of pre-school is $40 USD and grade school is $35 USD. Most families cannot afford the whole tuition, so the church looks for ways to give them scholarships. Teacher salaries vary depending on their length of time teaching. The average annual salary for a teacher at Our Lady of Altagrace is $650 USD. The government often runs out of money to pay teachers in public schools, so the importance of Catholic schools cannot be underscored.
After visiting the parish grounds, our group was invited to a meal with the parish council, finance committee, and fundraising committee. Once eating was over, the different committees gave reports to our group (through an interpreter). They shared the wonderful things they have going on in the parish. One such thing is their outreach ministry where they go door to door in the community and visit with people. If they are sick, they pray with them. If they are in need of help, they bring food. They also shared with us the needs and struggles of their community.
In addition to Our Lady of Altagrace, Fr. Enorce is also in charge of the chapel Our Lady of Mercy and the People of Nantes. This chapel also has a school attached to it with 120 students. The space is so small that four of the classes do their school work in the chapel. The kitchen is just a simple fire pit. The chapel owns land next door which Fr. Enorce hopes to one day put a school building.
Continuing the tour of the area, Fr. Enorce brought our group to Mount Grace. It has been his goal to make this small mountain into a pilgrimage place. Seemingly out of nowhere, people began to donate money to this endeavor. Fr. Enorce was able to purchase the land and built a large stone cross on it. He has also built and an altar and hopes for this place to be a place of prayer and beauty for the people of Haiti. The bishop is planning on holding a large youth gathering there for the whole diocese later in the year.
Fr. Enorce took our group to other chapel he is in charge of, St. Padre Pio. For a longtime the community wanted a chapel but no priest was willing to take on the additional location. Even though it is a bit of a drive, Fr. Enorce agreed to go. The chapel is nothing more than a small pavilion like you would find at a park with
picnic tables under it. The people are so happy to have this and hope one day to build a bigger building to turn into a parish. Fr. Enorce celebrates Mass every Sunday at Our Lady of Altagrace, the first and third at Our Lady of Mercy and the People of Nantes chapel, and the second and fourth at St. Padre Pio.
To end the day, Fr. Enorce took our group to the town of Ouanaminthe. This town is right at the border with the Dominican Republic. The city is home to massive trading markets and a high large population.
Day 3
The final day was very short as our group was taking an early afternoon flight. Before heading to the airport, they visited the Diocese Center which is a placed used for large retreats in the diocese. After that, their short time in Haiti was over.
Although the trip went by in what seemed to be an instant, our group learned much about the needs of Our Lady of Altagrace and more importantly, began new friendships which will be benefit to both sides. We have a lot we can learn from the people of Haiti. The young adults of Holy Name will discern what path we want to take to help but one thing is for sure, it will be a path which will enrich all of us here at Holy Name.
Our Lady of Altagrace, pray for us!