After a 7.0 magnitude quake struck Haiti's capital, claiming Port-Au-Prince's archbishop, cathedral and largest hospital among a staggering toll reportedly in excess of 100,000 lives and an "unimaginable" number of homes, the Pope has activated the global network of Catholic Charities for the service of relief and rebuilding, while the nuncio reports devastation all around including 100 or so priests and seminarians trapped in the rubble of the city's formation house.For its part, the US church's relief arm -- Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services, has devoted its website to collecting donations to fund its efforts, which have already begun with deployment of $5 million worth of aid.While Catholic Relief Services has reported that the agency's staff were already on-ground in the Haitian capital and their headquarters survived, at least one close-by building had collapsed.
The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, some 80 percent of Haiti's ten million residents are Catholic.
Saint Patrick High School donated its weekly Mission Collection for the relief efforts of Haiti. You can also make a direct donation by visiting the following Catholic Relief Services website:
https://secure.crs.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3181&3181.donation=form1
Last evening, I was informed by Brother David Hawke, currently in Rome, that the Brothers at our Lasallian Institutions are safe. There is a school and novitiate in Port Au Prince. The Brothers that serve in Haiti are part of the South Mexico District. We continue to pray for our Haitian brothers and sisters in the face of this incomprehensible and seemingly cruel event.
This morning, the following was posted on the website: lasalle.org. The message comes from one of the Brothers stationed in Port Au Prince.
We were greatly shocked at around 5 pm. Some stones were detached from the walls of the chapel, the tabernacle and the statute of the Blessed Virgin felt down. Some twenty meters of our surrounding wall have collapsed. But here, thanks God, we are all fine. I had Br. Cyprian on the phone. They also felt the earthquake, but from what he told me there has been no damage in Port de Paix. Everyone is fine in the Turtle Island as well. There have been over twenty tremors since the initial earthquake. We have little information except that the epicentre was located not far from Carrefour's, near the capital. What a tragedy for this poor country.International aid has not yet arrived and people need everything. You must see to believe, it's horrifying. In the city the damage is enormous: The Archbishop was killed in his residence. The Presidency, the Ministries, the UN headquarters are all destroyed. The city is in chaos. That’s a true national disaster.Everyone is afraid to return to their house, the majority of them are in ruins or cracked. There is dead people lying everywhere. No electricity. No help.We went to visit the Brothers of Christian Instruction, their provincial house is completely destroyed. A Brother has not yet been found, another is death and a third one is seriously wounded. Last night we lodged nine Sisters at or house. People are sleeping outside and wandering in the streets in search of a safe place. Many have not eaten for 36 hours. I gave what I had. It is just a small help that will allow about a hundred people to have something to eat. Any contribution you send will be used to help these poor people in distress.
Let us continue to pray for our Haitian brothers and sisters in the face of this uncomprehensible and seemgly cruel catastrophe.
The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, some 80 percent of Haiti's ten million residents are Catholic.
Saint Patrick High School donated its weekly Mission Collection for the relief efforts of Haiti. You can also make a direct donation by visiting the following Catholic Relief Services website:
https://secure.crs.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3181&3181.donation=form1
Last evening, I was informed by Brother David Hawke, currently in Rome, that the Brothers at our Lasallian Institutions are safe. There is a school and novitiate in Port Au Prince. The Brothers that serve in Haiti are part of the South Mexico District. We continue to pray for our Haitian brothers and sisters in the face of this incomprehensible and seemingly cruel event.
This morning, the following was posted on the website: lasalle.org. The message comes from one of the Brothers stationed in Port Au Prince.
We were greatly shocked at around 5 pm. Some stones were detached from the walls of the chapel, the tabernacle and the statute of the Blessed Virgin felt down. Some twenty meters of our surrounding wall have collapsed. But here, thanks God, we are all fine. I had Br. Cyprian on the phone. They also felt the earthquake, but from what he told me there has been no damage in Port de Paix. Everyone is fine in the Turtle Island as well. There have been over twenty tremors since the initial earthquake. We have little information except that the epicentre was located not far from Carrefour's, near the capital. What a tragedy for this poor country.International aid has not yet arrived and people need everything. You must see to believe, it's horrifying. In the city the damage is enormous: The Archbishop was killed in his residence. The Presidency, the Ministries, the UN headquarters are all destroyed. The city is in chaos. That’s a true national disaster.Everyone is afraid to return to their house, the majority of them are in ruins or cracked. There is dead people lying everywhere. No electricity. No help.We went to visit the Brothers of Christian Instruction, their provincial house is completely destroyed. A Brother has not yet been found, another is death and a third one is seriously wounded. Last night we lodged nine Sisters at or house. People are sleeping outside and wandering in the streets in search of a safe place. Many have not eaten for 36 hours. I gave what I had. It is just a small help that will allow about a hundred people to have something to eat. Any contribution you send will be used to help these poor people in distress.
Let us continue to pray for our Haitian brothers and sisters in the face of this uncomprehensible and seemgly cruel catastrophe.
