Felician Sisters of North America Mission: Haiti

On Easter Sunday, we invited Junior and Vilcia, our newly-Baptized disciples, who had also received their first Holy Communion and Confirmation, to celebrate their new lives with Christ by joining us for Easter breakfast.

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! He is truly Risen! Alleluia! We wish everyone a joyous and blessed Easter season as you walk with the Lord, who is with us always. We were blessed to have the traditional blessing of food on Holy Saturday as we waited in joyful hope for the Light of Christ to scatter all darkness. We celebrated at Sts. James and Phillip Cathedral this year since we had two of our community members receive the sacraments. Bishop Launay Saturne officiated at their sacraments.

Vilcia, the mother of two of our kids, desired to receive Communion and Confirmation. We supported her and helped make her journey with the Lord.

Junior is one of our teenage boys, who came to us a year ago, desiring to be baptized into the Catholic faith. He prepared diligently every week for his class. 

It was a grace and blessing for us to watch Vilcia and Junior grow in the faith and come to this joyous day of embracing the Lord Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church.

O God, who make this most sacred night radiant with the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, stir up in your Church a spirit of adoption, so that, renewed in body and mind, we may render you undivided service. Though our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.  (Collect for for Easter Vigil Mass)

On Good Friday, April 14, early in the morning, the town of Jacmel gatherer to walk their annual Way of the Cross. It is this day that the Church gives witness to the power of the Cross.

Men, women and children walked though the city praying, singing, and meditating on the 14 Stations of Jesus’ pain and sorrow.

As we walked this Way of the Cross, we looked at the human suffering of Jesus at his death, being all too ware of our participation in the suffering of others in this world. Then, while looking at how Jesus responded to others during his death, we prayed to learn how to respond to the violence and suffering here and now–with compassion, mercy, forgiveness. Let us all trust in the Lord’s unconditional love for us as we accept those crosses we receive, and  may we know that it is in dying that we will rise again.

On Tuesday of Holy Week, April 11, our girls between the ages of 12-21 were invited for a retreat day designed especially for them. There were 24 young people sharing the day with us. The day began at 11:00 a.m. and ended at 5:00 p.m. Half were Catholic, some Protestant, and some involved in voodoo. They all were excited to be part of the day, and for most of them, it was the first time ever on a retreat. 

The day began with Praise and Worship. Wanitha Ceus, M.D., one of our medical doctors who works in our Mother Angela Clinic, gave a conference on feminine hygiene and The Gift of Being a Woman. After her conference, the participants had rice, beans, chicken and soda. The afternoon conference with Sr. Inga was on Learning to Pray with the Scriptures. After this, the girls  had time to pray with the Gospel of the day and to share what they prayed and heard.

We ended the day with Mass! After Mass, the young women shared the joy of the Lord they had experienced throughout the day!

On Tuesday, April 4, Mike Edgar, Director of Properties for the Felician Sisters, arrived in Jacmel, Haiti. On Thursday, April 6, a meeting was held with FBC Construction and PROCHE teams, along with Sisters Inga and Marilyn, to check the construction site for the Felician Haiti Mission. Everyone is pleased with the construction to date. We walked together through every building which includes the convent, activity center, volunteer house, caretaker’s house, mobile clinic office and pharmacy, as well as a storage and mechanical building. Observations of the progress of the construction, along with minor field changes, were discussed. Sisters Marilyn and Inga ask for your continued prayers through the intercession of St. Joseph for continued blessings upon the site and the success of the Haiti  Capital Campaign.

Top left to right, convent and activity center

Bottom left to right, volunteer house and Mother Angela Clinic and pharmacy

On Tuesday, March 28, we were blest with some new visitors, who actually are our neighbors a few miles away in Cayes, Jacmel. They were Cuban doctors from the Cuban Hospital in Cayes, Jacmel. During our past four years working with our medical clinic, we have heard a lot about the hospital and its services for the poor. It was established after the 2010 earthquake, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, for whom the Cubans we met still have a profound respect. The doctors came to visit us; they had heard about the Klinik Manman Angela and the work we are doing throughout the Diocese.

It was a wonderful meeting, and we were invited to visit the hospital to see what they are doing to help the poor. We were able to share some hospital supplies that we had received in our container, and they were grateful. We, too, were grateful for this meeting because we have been seeing a few woman who are pregnant and cannot afford any type of prenatal care. God brought the Cuban doctors to us. Another amazing Haitian miracle!

On Wednesday, March 29, we decided to visit the hospital and see for ourselves the work they do for the poor. They gave us a tour of the hospital. We even visited the operating room.

Edline is a young single mother with three children and one on the way. She and her family come from the mountains. Edline arrived in Jacmel last Fall because she wanted her children to attend school. She did not have a place of her own so  she lived with her cousin for a time. After awhile, they could no longer stay because none of these shacks are not large enough for eight people, nor do they have beds on which to sleep. It is very common here in Haiti for the poor to be sleeping on the floor on just a piece of cardboard. At the time we met Edline, she was suffering from stomach problems, especially in the morning. Well, we found out that she is pregnant. She is due in July. We have her now in a program that offers pre-natal care. We also have been blessed to help her have a place of her own for her family.

Here is where our kids play when they are not on our compound. We look forward to the day when they can come to our new mission site, which is in the process of construction–to play and have fun!