In solidarity with the suffering people of Haiti, a Prayer for Peace Service is planned for Friday, March 15 at the Church of Our Saviour in Manhattan. The 6:30 p.m. service will include hymns and will be held in English and some Haitian Creole – led by Father Enzo Del Brocco, priest associate at the parish who is fluent in Creole and has served in Haiti.                           

“Together with the Community of Sant’Egidio, we will have an evening prayer for Haiti,” Fr. Del Brocco told The Good Newsroom. “Being in the city (New York) where Venerable Pierre Toussaint lived, and having so many Haitians currently living here in New York, we’d like to offer a moment of prayer for our neighbors who are suffering terribly.”

The Community of Sant’Egidio is a Rome-based, worldwide lay Catholic association dedicated to prayer, the poor, and peace. Toussaint was born a slave in Haiti in 1766, and died a freeman in New York City in 1853

The people of Haiti “are living in a very dark phase of history. The gangs and their criminal sponsors accumulate their fortunes by stealing relentlessly from the people and public institutions, and they accumulate their power by keeping guns pointed and everyone terrorized; this is horrible…But we always have to have hope. It’s important that those who are suffering in Haiti know that people are praying together for them. It gives them hope and courage to continue to not give up. We have to ask for God’s grace, and for the Holy Spirit to guide us,” Father Del Brocco said.       

He added that he was in Haiti two months ago for several days – a trip related to his Passionist-order social service and outreach duties. He has been a Passionist priest since 1991, currently a Passionist order vice-provincial in the United States.    

He worked in Haiti for nearly six years ending in December 2019, serving marginalized youth in the slum of Cité Soleil, as a hospital chaplain and in pastoral outreach in the remote areas of the country affected by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. 

In late February, six male religious, a lay teacher, and a priest were kidnapped in two separate incidents in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The six members of the Congregation of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart were abducted on their way to the John XXIII School, which is run by the order. A teacher who was with them was also taken, the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) confirmed.

“Because of this painful event, the John XXIII institution is closing its doors until further notice. The other institutions of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart throughout the country will continue the work of raising awareness among the new generation of the values of living together in harmony, with a view to the emergence of a new society that is more humane, more caring, and more united,” said the congregation in a statement sent to ACN. 

Only a few hours later, a priest was also kidnapped in Port-au-Prince. He was taken from his parish church, alongside some of the faithful, soon after celebrating morning Mass. Despite the tireless work of the church, clergy and religious have not been spared the violence of armed gangs. Those kidnappings took place five weeks after a group of six religious sisters were abducted, only to be released the following week.

– Our Sunday Visitor contributed to this report.