Little Sisters from Haiti Visit Scranton

by Sister Eileen Coleman, IHM

From August 1-3, Sisters Denise Désil and Bernadette Nicolas of the Little Sisters of Ste. Thérèse, Haiti, came to visit me at Our Lady of Peace. They were in the United States because of the deaths of two of Sister Denise’s brothers who had lived here and had died within two months of each other. Her brother Léon, lived in Florida, and Reynold in New York.

During their visit, the sisters had the opportunity to speak to the us at Our Lady of Peace Residence after Liturgy. As they so typically do, each expressed her love and gratitude to our sisters individually as well as to the many benefactors of our congregation for our continued prayers, concern and financial support of their congregation and their mission to serve the poorest of the poor of Haiti. Sister Bernadette, who was the Superior General when we began our twinning relationship with them, reminded us of her strong belief at that time, that it was our foundresses, a strong, spiritual and determined Haitian women, that had brought us together.

Sister Denise assured us that our recent financial support was so important and appreciated as it was used to help rebuild one of their convents destroyed in the last earthquake and to begin building additional space for their retired and infirm sisters. She also shared how extremely dangerous the country has become, how very expensive and difficult it is to find and purchase basic survival needs, and on a personal note, how overwhelming it
sometimes is to be responsible for the safety and welfare of her sisters.

The crisis of insecurity in Port au Prince is severe. In July alone nearly 500 people were killed when rival gangs warred in Cité Soleil, the very large, dangerous slum on the outskirts of the city. Armed groups control transportation routes into and out of the capital, and use this position to extort travelers and businesses, engage in kidnappings, and use extreme violence against those challenging their position. This has a rippling effect on the economy, the availability and cost of goods, and creates critical security issues in the rest of the country. The route from the airport to their Motherhouse includes passing through Port au Prince, so in order to avoid going anywhere near the city, the sisters must travel over the mountains in the hope of arriving safely and without incident. You may recall that one of their sisters was kidnapped.

While it was never a short trip (more than an hour while only traveling about 10 miles), because of the chaos caused by not having working traffic lights or stop signs, Sister Denise explained that it now takes longer to get from the airport to their Motherhouse than it does from the Motherhouse to New York.

Sister Denise emailed me to assure me they had arrived safely back to the Motherhouse. Since their visit here, I have revisited many of our conversations which have evoked so many different emotions—admiration, wonder, and concern. One conversation, however, keeps nudging me, challenging me. Denise was sharing how frightening and dangerous it is for everyone to travel—anywhere—and how many of their sisters have to travel every day to their mission, many on foot. One sister in particular was having a less than courageous day and was struggling to leave the Motherhouse. Denise looked at her and said, as only she could: “Sister, God has list in hand of who going to heaven today. If you are on list—you go! Say prayer you not on list!”

From where, or what or whom is born such faith and courage?

Sisters Bernadette Nicolas, Eileen Coleman, and Denise Desil