“Dear compatriots and friends everywhere,
Like every year, our entire nation bows before Our Lady of Perpetual Help to ask her to protect us and guide us in this world where individualism tends to become a norm that threatens the existence of the less powerful. This year, I especially invite you to thank the Patron Saint of Haiti for the many graces she granted us despite our setbacks and especially despite our iniquities.
We live, in fact, in a world where cooperation between humans only exists in the greatest mistrust because the interests of some do not always necessarily coincide with those of others. The protection of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is essential to us in this pseudo-civilized world where man is a wolf to man. Our frail Nation has always needed a lot of abnegation, temperance, and above all an extraordinary resilience to cling to its existence in this ocean infested with ill-intentioned sharks. Isolated as it is, if Haiti has learned to subsist on the edge of the abyss, it must be believed that Our Lady of Perpetual Help has never abandoned us. Let’s therefore be grateful, and keep our fervor and our faith. We are not alone in this fight.
Since its birth, which dates back to the first day of January 1804, our country has never ceased to face obstacles of all kinds; some more obvious than others. In this world that has never hidden its hostility and contempt, we cannot know how many times Our Lady of Perpetual Help has intervened to protect this first black republic in the world. Our deplorable economic situation and our often ill-chosen leaders make this country of twelve million inhabitants a favorite target for all adversities. In our isolation, we have experienced epidemic after epidemic. Some left their mark, but we survived. We must give thanks to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Where would our dear Haiti be without the invariable protection of this powerful patron saint.
When we talk about all the dangers that threaten the world in which we live, and which make it more and more unstable, we must, at one time or another, mention Covid-19, this ruthless pandemic which still makes people talk. from her. There were so many bleak predictions for Haiti, a country completely on its own. At the end of the day, we can say at the point where we are, that our country has done well. How not to thank Our Lady of Perpetual Help ? Her kindness is boundless. Our gratitude too.
We always address ourselves with confidence to Our Lady of Perpetual Help because she is the Patroness of our country, and she has never abandoned us.
Lesly Condé
Felician Sisters of North America Mission: Haiti 