Port-au-Prince, 14 January 2010
Fr. Wilhelm Steckling, omi
Superior General
Rome
Good morning, Father General,
I am using what is left of the battery charge on my laptop to write you this message. You have certainly learned that on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, at 4:53 p.m., a violent earthquake (a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale) passed through Haiti and has practically destroyed the city of Port-au-Prince.
Most of the big buildings have collapsed.
The provincial house was seriously damaged and the new construction (the annex) has collapsed.
The scholasticate has also caved in. The two formators (Frs. Muscadin and Almonor) as well as the two scholastics who were there (Ronel and Johnny), and Fr. Jean-François Printemps who was visiting there, are safe and sound.
The other scholastics were at a conference at CIFOR, being presented by a Brazilian doctor. The CIFOR building collapsed and the conference presenter died, as well as an Oblate scholastic, Weedy Alexis, and a Spiritan scholastic, Stéphane Dougé. Presently, the minibus of the Monfortain scholastics is blocked under the debris, with 14 passengers aboard, 9 of them Montfortains. They can do nothing, up to this point, to rescue them. One of them is alive for his voice can be heard and they are talking with him, but that is all that can be done.
It's a catastrophe, total devastation in Haiti. Since Wednesday evening, the inhabitants of Port-au-Prince have to sleep under the stars, as do we, for there are aftershocks from time to time. Everyone is afraid and we do what we can to take precautions.
There are no means of communication or of information. With a bit of luck, the telephone might work. I have not yet been able to communicate with our confreres in the province.
There is no electricity, no water at the provincial house, no internet. I imagine that it is the same situation just about everywhere in Port-au-Prince.
Yesterday, Father Loubeau and I were obliged to go out onto the streets to get to the scholasticate. Everywhere there is crying, weeping and wailing. The streets are piled high with dead bodies.
There were other collapsed buildings: the Port-au-Prince archbishop's residence, the National Palace, the Cathedral, Sacred Heart church, the Major Seminary at Turgeau, the Major Seminary for philosophy at Cazeau, the Episcopal church of the Holy Trinity and several other large churches and schools, Catholic and Protestant.
It was only yesterday morning that they were able to retrieve the remains of Mons. Joseph Serge Miot, Archbishop of Port-au-Prince. The Vicar General is still under the debris: they no longer hear his voice. A professor at the Major Seminary at Turgeau and three seminarians were trapped inside the seminary. No one can hear them.
Up to this point, they have named eight dead among the seminarians of Cazeau. (But the Oblates at Blanchard and Sibert have been spared).
Some aid arrived yesterday morning from the United States, France and the Dominican Republic. But they cannot do much because there are still the aftershocks. They are saying that the aftershocks should end by Friday evening.
The deceased Oblate scholastic had to be buried yesterday afternoon together with the Spiritan, in the courtyard of the Spiritans (their church and their house were also destroyed). There is no functioning morgue. There is still no help. This morning at 8 o'clock, we are going to have a funeral service together with the Spiritans.
You can understand, Fr. General, that the damages must be immense. One still cannot estimate them, even though the Prime Minister has spoken of about 100,000 deaths. The total is much worse than that for there are still the wounded, the disappeared and the material damages.
Several priests, brothers and religious women are unaccounted for.
Thank you for your understanding and your solidarity.
We know that you are thinking of us and that you are lifting us up in prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our helping mother.
Fr. Gasner Joint, omi
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While we are all praying for the people of Haiti in the time of their devastation we would ask you to pray for the Daughters of Mary specially sisters Cecilia and Bruno. Their congregations Motherhouse has been destroyed by the earthquake. Two of the sisters are safe, two have died including the Provincial, seven have been hospitalized, the remainder are still unaccounted for.
On a positive note, Chacha has just heard from his family. They are alive and unharmed.
I have made the reservation to go to Haiti Monday through Dominican Republic to see this disaster.
Thanks for your continued prayer.
Wismick
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Here's a very rough translation of TiPe's latest text (from the Daughters of Wisdom I believe):
To the persons in charge of entity for all the Sisters of the Congregation Well dear Sisters, This is with a lot of penalty that
we have just learned that three of our sisters deceased to the house
of Welcome to Intersection that collapsed during the earthquake. It
is a matter of:
- Sister Mary Flora of St Cyrille
- Sister Marguerite of Ordeal
- Sister christine-marie of Montfort (French in mission in Haiti since more than 40 years)I recommend therefore to your prayer our three sisters that were buried dice aujourd’hui in the presence of Sister Mary edwige, Provincial that at last was able to go on the places.
Three sisters always remain buried under the décombres…Il is a question of:
- Sister Mary emmanuel of the Rosaire
- Sister Mary camille François
- Sister Mary claude John, sister of temporary vows Let us pray once more at the same time Mary for that they can be delivered fastest possible.
We return thanks to God for the house of our sisters ainées was saved collapse. Our infirmary sisters except. Sr Viviane Fonvil always is in cares to the hospital. Our Fathers Montfortains equally very are afflicted by the loss of 9 séminaristes, students in theology under the collapse of the center of studies as well as the Father John
Baptist Henri Son that is dead to the welcome house of which a party
collapsed.
We divide the deep suffering that can feel our Fathers Montfortains of the Province of Haiti and of everywhere and we assure them of our prayer and of our affection. In the matter of our St-Gabriel Brothers, the Superior one of the Province of Canada at last succeeded speaking with the Brother Ronald Brissette, that informed it that the communities of Jérémie and d’Anse-d’Hainault were saved. But until this day the brothers did not again succeed communicating with the
brothers of the communities of Port-au-Prince and of Gloomy Big one.
We continue to pray for our sisters of Haiti and with them we cry the tragic death of our three sisters and the disastrous position of the country.
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