Catholic - Haiti Observer Blog

The Roman Catholic Church tradition and practice of Lent began in 400 A.D. Lent is a period of preparation for Easter Sunday, a time of sober examination, reviewing one's behaviors and attitudes, and atoning for past sins.

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, begins with the ritual placement of ashes, made in the form of a cross, on penitents' foreheads. It is a reminder of how sin causes one to become separate from God, cast into a vale of grief and sadness. With awareness of sin's repercussions, penitents can make adjustments to bring themselves closer to God again, through the intercession of His son, Jesus', death on the cross.

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On November 22, 2012, Haitian president Michel Martelly and family met Pope Benedict XVI in Rome.

Martelly also met the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone where the Vatican agreed to continue to support Haiti to recover from the 2010 earthquake.

Video of Haitian president thanks Pope for quake aid during Vatican visit:

For me the "Haitian Joudalist", it was important to notice two important facts from the meeting between President Michel Martelly and Pope Benedict XVI.

- One, If you look closely, you will see the Haitian President with his "Pink Bracelet" visibly displayed during the meeting.

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In Haiti, religion is professed by almost all Haitians.

Religious demographics in Haiti are distributed as follows in the Haitian population: Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3%.

Haitian Catholics, Baptists, Protestants and other Christians accept as true the existence of heaven, hell and purgatory; that the fate of the departed depends on how he lived his life on Earth. They believe in the teaching of the Catholic Church's teachings which holds that people who led a good life tend to go to Heaven, where they will be with God, angels, departed relatives, and fellow believers.

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La Chapelle, known in Creole as Lachapèl, operates as a city-ship in the Saint Marc Arrondissement, in the Artibonite Division. Other city-ships in the Artibonite Division include Verrettes and Saint Marc.

La Chapelle is situated southward from the Atlantic Ocean, indistinguishable in its aquamarine jewel-toned beauty from the Caribbean Sea, only a few miles west of La Chapelle. Gonaïves is the closest city to La Chapelle, while Cap Haïtien and Port-au-Prince lie further out.

As Haiti is largely Catholic, it is no surprise Catholicism is the dominant religion in La Chapelle, with a minority of Protestants and Voodoo believers. Residents of La Chapelle worship at Saint John, an Evangelical Roman Catholic Church, the church being the focal point of the religious community. Voodoo believers practice their own rites, with aspects of Catholicism incorporated into their rituals.

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The head of Holy Roman Catholic Church Pope Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor Max Leroy Mesidor, as Bishop of Fort Liberte in the Diocese of Gonaives. Born in January 6, 1962, he has served various posts such as being vicar in charge as well as priest in a cathedral. He was brought up in the Diocese of Gonaives at Saint Marc Cathedral.

Max Leroy was educated in the same place where he completed his elementary schooling and joined the college of Immaculate Conception in Gonaives. The bishop later, after schooling went to the city and joined seminary to study Bachelor of Sacred Theology. He studied his first degree in Port-au-Prince when he enrolled into seminary. He completed seminary in 1987 and in the same year, he graduated with a degree in Sacred Theology.

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Christianity has various beliefs when it comes to life after death but one thing followers have in common is that they believe in the afterlife.

Catholics, Baptists, Protestants and other Christians have been taught differently about afterlife beliefs. However, the existence of heaven, hell and purgatory are very common.

Many Christians believe that the fate of the departed depends on how he lived his life on Earth. According to the Catholic Church's teachings, people who led a good life tend to go to Heaven, where they will be with God, angels, departed relatives, and fellow believers. Those who did bad things on Earth and did not repent them are expected to get punished in Hell. Bad people who hurt others while they were alive suffer from hellfire for eternity. Another Catholic belief is the existence of purgatory, which is located in the middle of Heaven and Hell. This is where people who failed to confess their sins usually go to. Some believe that spirits that were sent there can move on to Heaven in time.

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The new Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, is an advocate for Haitian issue and has worked in Little Haiti for many years.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski was assigned to the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center in Little Haiti, where he served as associate director and then director.

Under his leadership, Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center in Little Haiti Thomas Wenski provided social educational and legal services to newly arrived Haitian immigrants in addition to the traditional pastoral ministries.

Wenski will succeed Archbishop John C. Favalora, who had led South Florida's 800,000-plus Catholics for 16 years.

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Cardinal Sean O'Malley, traveled to Haiti to have a firsthand look at the devastation caused by the Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake and tried to offer spiritual comfort to workers and leaders at Catholic institutions still reeling from the disaster.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley leads the delegation organized by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and others in prayer inside the destroyed cathedral in Port-au-Prince

O'Malley led a Mass in Haitian Creole in a small whitewashed brick room that opened onto a balcony in the Petionville retreat of the Filles de Marie, or Daughters of Mary, a religious order that lost 15 nuns when their residence in Bel Aire collapsed.

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