In the rubble of Haiti… priests and seminarians

I have read… could this be true?… Vatican Radio is saying…

The apostolic nuncio in Haiti, Msgr. Bernardito Auza, said that the cathedral and all the major churches and seminaries in Port-au-Prince were leveled by the most powerful temblor to strike the island in two centuries. Hundreds of seminarians and priests were trapped in the rubble, he told Vatican Radio.

 

May God preserve them

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22 Comments

  1. Mike says:

    I found this:

    http://twitter.com/CatholicNewsSvc/status/7722677217

    “Amid the confusion, Archbishop Auza told the Vatican missionary news agency Fides that 100 priests and seminarians also were killed. The clergy were reportedly members of the Montfort order on retreat in Port-au-Prince.”

    “Father Matt Considine of the U.S. province of the Montfort Fathers, based in New York, said that although the “situation is very confused,” the order’s officials have not been told that any of their members died in Port-au-Prince. The order has fewer than 100 members in the country, he told CNS Jan. 13, adding that although there was a retreat going on, it was not in Port-au-Prince and everyone is “presumed OK.”

  2. Rob in Maine says:

    Father,

    It’s horrible.
    “The prominent died along with the poor: the body of Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, 63, was found in the ruins of his office, said the Rev. Pierre Le Beller of the Saint Jacques Missionary Center in Landivisiau, France. He told The Associated Press by telephone that fellow missionaries in Haiti had told him they found Miot’s body.”

    :(

  3. Denis Crnkovic says:

    There is a picture of the destroyed cathedral here:

    http://twitpic.com/xwanq

    One thinks only of the many souls…

  4. thefeds says:

    Reports on the Drudge Report show the death toll is now estimated to be as high as 500,000. God help them.

  5. aep1223 says:

    Requiescant in pace.

  6. An American Mother says:

    This is just about as bad as it can possibly be.

    Our local ham radio net is reporting that there is almost no radio traffic out of Port au Prince. Five frequencies have been set aside for health and welfare traffic, but we’re hearing very little. Father John Henault, HH6JH, did transmit a brief message earlier today.

    The epicenter was just a few miles west of Port-au-Prince, and the damage is horrific. We have family friends in Petionville and Cap-Haitien, have not been able to make contact.

    Prayers for everybody affected, for the priests and seminarians, and for this poor, poor nation of Haiti. How they have suffered, and continue to suffer!

  7. EXCHIEF says:

    An American Mother
    From his radio traffic yesterday it appeared Fr. Henault was not in the capital city when the quake hit.
    From: Exchief (N7WR)

  8. Gwen says:

    A good summary provided by the USGS, with some interesting maps, here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/#details

    Haiti sits right on a transform plate boundary; the North American and Caribbean plates are moving side-by-side with respect to one another. Similiar to the San Andreas transform boundary in/west of California.

    Sit down before you look at these pictures on the Boston Globe website: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/earthquake_in_haiti.html

    Catholic Relief Services needs $$ to aid these devastated people; they accept credit cards online: http://www.crs.org

  9. shin says:

    Are there any good relief organizations to donate to that you know the money will be going to good purpose for these people?

    Catholic if possible?

  10. TJerome says:

    I believe the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have made an appeal through Cardinal George and Archbishop Dolan. It might be called the Catholic Relief Fund. PLease check their website. Tom

  11. wanda says:

    Catholic Relief Services. Visit them on line.

  12. An American Mother says:

    TU, N7WR. Glad you’ve heard something. We continue to listen, not hearing much here.

    73,
    N4MMG (An American Mother) & N4XMX (OM)

  13. Charivari Rob says:

    An American Mother – “The epicenter was just a few miles west of Port-au-Prince, and the damage is horrific. We have family friends in Petionville and Cap-Haitien, have not been able to make contact.”

    Much of my wife’s family is from (and/or still lives in) Petionville. Similarly, we haven’t had much direct communication, but my wife received one relayed report from someone in whom she felt reasonably confident that Petionville (parts of it, anyway) did not seem to be as badly hit as Port Au Prince proper and many other areas. Bad, but not as bad. Small comfort, I know, but I’m passing it along for whatever it’s worth.

  14. MikeM says:

    You can donate to Catholic Relief Services efforts in Haiti here: https://secure.crs.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3181&3181.donation=form1

    Anyone know if the Church is making any efforts to meet the heightened spiritual needs of the people of Haiti at this time when their Church infrastructure is damaged?

  15. Jane says:

    Lord grant eternal rest to all the people who died in the earthquake.

    Our Lord dictated the following prayer to St Gertrude the Great to release many souls from Purgatory each time it is said.

    Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great

    Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

    The above prayer was given approval in 1936 by the Bishop of Liera, Portugal. This prayer is widely publicised with the claim that 1000 souls are released each time it is said. However, “1000 souls” was replaced from the original word “many” and “those in my own home and within my family” had been added after 1936.

  16. medievalist says:

    May all the deceased clergy and religious of Haiti come into their richly deserved eternal reward.

  17. Joe Gallaher says:

    Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Haitian people are looking up to you. Fly now, O Queen of the world, to Haiti and show thyself a rescuing mother in these, their harrowing days. O Mary! behold our neighbor’s danger, and have compassion on us all. Amen.Just heard this through the grapevine.AMERICAN AIRLINES is taking doctors and nurses to Haiti for free. Please call 212-697-9767. UPS is shipping packages under 50lbs to Haiti for free. If you have anything you want to donate, UPS is the place to take it

  18. Massachusetts Catholic says:

    Last night there were gatherings for Haitian Catholics in the Boston area, including one at St. Charles Borromeo in Waltham. Today at another Waltham church, St. Mary’s, the pastor offered a Mass which included prayers asking protection against earthquakes. (It seemed to be part of a service specifically written to be celebrated at times of earthquakes; didn’t know there was such a thing.)

    But, to the point: Many of the Boston-area Haitians are praying that at this desperate time, the people not revert to Voodoo. The priest asked the congregation today to pray for this intention. Perhaps others reading this could join in this intention.

  19. Penta says:

    MA Catholic: Some 80% of Haitians, if I recall, already practice Voodoo in addition to Catholicism. (Not sure if that’s Haitians period or Haitian Catholics)

    80% may be off – in any case, the percentage is vast, such that the general rule of thumb could comfortably be that *most* Haitians mix and match both traditions.

  20. Massachusetts Catholic says:

    Penta,

    I believe it was to pray that people not turn to voodoo, rather than turning to God. For family and friends still in Haiti not to despair or reject God at this time of testing, but to maintain their faith. But we can surely pray that all turn away from voodoo, can’t we?

  21. Penta says:

    Okay, I misread that.

  22. chonak says:

    At Mass today, the priest said that the OMI school of theology was destroyed, and that one of the scholastics (undergraduate seminarians) died.

    May he and all the faithful departed rest in peace.

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