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HAITI: After the earthquake, bishops open tent seminary
By John Newton
Bishop Joseph Lafontant, administrator of Port-au-Prince archdiocese, and Archbishop Louis Kébreau of Cap-Haitien
Seminarians in Haiti are returning to their studies as early as Easter Tuesday – thanks to tents being put up to replace buildings destroyed in the country’s devastating earthquake.
The initiative, announced this week by a delegation of bishops visiting the international headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need in Germany, comes after the charity provided help for the students who lost seminary buildings in the quake on 12th January.
Leading the delegation, Archbishop Louis Kébreau of Cap-Haitien, chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of Haiti, said that despite the makeshift accommodation the seminary would be back up and running for the start of the new term on 6th April.
The announcement coincides with news from the bishops that this year’s Easter services will be taking place as usual in tents erected in “every place” where churches have collapsed.
Assessing the needs of more than 200 students from Haiti was Bishop Joseph Lafontant, who was appointed administrator of Port-au-Prince archdiocese after Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot died in the quake.
He said: “We decided to re-open the seminary in April and have ordered tents for classes, tents for dormitories, tents for professors.”
Bishop Lafontant added: “Even though we lack books and lack instruments, it is a privilege as many schools are not opening.”
The makeshift seminary will be outside Port-au-Prince in Lilavois, near the bishops’ conference buildings, which did not collapse after the quake.
Archbishop Louis Kébreau said of the new seminary plan: “The new beginning is a sign of hope for our devastated and traumatised land.”
Church leaders have not yet been able to clear the site of the former seminary, but they are arranging for containers to be put on site to store books saved from the seminary at Port-au-Prince.
There are already two chapels on site, one which forms part of the bishops’ conference buildings and another which belongs to the Scalabrini Fathers next door.
Thanking Aid to the Church in Need for its support, Bishop Lafontant said: “Aid to the Church in Need’s aid was valuable – since the seminarians lost everything and went back to their homes, parishes and relations.”
After news that the funds were available for seminarians, an appeal was put out on Radio Soleil, a Catholic station, calling the students back.
Radio Soleil had been destroyed by the earthquake but it went back on air after one of the transmitters was recovered, with the station now based in an old people’s home.
Bishop Lafontant said: “Psychologically speaking it was better to gather them together again.”
He described seeing seminarians who had lost limbs talking and laughing together when they met up again.
He also said specialists have begun providing psychological support for seminarians traumatised by the quake. Thirty seminarians – including diocesan and religious – died in the disaster.
Rebuilding churches and buildings including the seminary will take a long time.
Bishop Lafontant told Aid to the Church in Need of the need for evaluations before rebuilding starts.
Technicians will evaluate the sites and all the new churches will be designed to resist the effects of another earthquake.
The Church is hoping to erect provisional chapels to protect people during the rainy season between July and November.
More than 300 churches were destroyed in the diocese of Port-au-Prince alone. According to the bishop, people are still very strong in their faith despite the tragedy.
Bishop Lafontant said: “Not one word to my knowledge has been said against God, although they are complaining about the government.
“People always find strength in prayers, in Holy Communion, in Ways of Crosses – which they attend in their thousands. They know God will not let them down.”
Aid to the Church in Need despatched £105,000 in emergency aid over the first few days after the earthquake – including help for seminarians.
The charity is committed to helping the Church in Haiti in the long term and a project team will be visiting the country next month to assess its needs.