Haiti: Sister Parish

We are gearing up for our Eggs For Haiti fundraising event starting Feb 10, there will be
plastic easter eggs near the exits of the church. Please take one and donate to our Sister parish in Haiti. A donation of $100 covers the education and lunch expenses of 1 student for the entire school year! All donations are greatly appreciated and go a long way in Haiti!
Check out the latest news and pictures from our sister parish in our 2023 Annual Report
Fr. Jean Mérat, the pastor of our sister parish, made his first visit to Hershey in July 2023

About:
Our sister parish (Our Lady of Lourdes) and school (Sainte Jeanne De Arc) are located in Tarasse, Haiti. We've been connected since 1983 & sister parishes since 2016. We annually fund teacher salaries & 4 student meals/wk. The school has ~300 students pre-school through 6th grade.

Learn more in our Annual Reports:
2023 Annual Report
2022 Annual Report
2021 Annual Report
2020 Annual Report

Next Meeting:

Feb 2, 2024 at 12:30 pm

Volunteer:

If you would like to join the Haiti Committee, or have contacts/experience in Haiti we would love to hear from you. Email us:
[email protected]

Meet Your Sister Parish in Haiti! Video Here

Haiti Photo Gallery Photo

HISTORY
Thirty years ago, Monsignor Bierster made a commitment to assist a poor parish in Haiti to build a school. The parish, Our Lady of Lourdes - located in Tarasse (Haiti) received our prayers and financial support. In gratitude the school was named "Sainte Jeanne D'Arc" or "St. Joan of Arc". Successive pastors have faithfully continued to support this parish & school. In August of 2016, Father Al and the Pastoral Council of the parish officially (and unanimously) sanctioned Our Lady of Lourdes parish as our “sister-parish”.

GOALS

Awareness: A group of St. Joan of Arc parishioners who work to maintain the relationship with our Sister Parish while facilitating communications to raise awareness and ensure our parish community is kept current on news & events pertaining to this relationship. This committee also facilitates fundraisers to provide additional financial support.

Fundraising: Our parish makes an annual gift to pay for the salaries of ALL the teachers at the school and provide a meal (usually beans and rice) to the children of the school three time a week. In addition to this, a second collection takes place on Ash Wednesday to provide parishioners with an opportunity to offer support during the Season of Lent. As mentioned above, the Haiti Committee will also initiate other fundraisers throughout the year.

Parish Interaction: We will pray for the specific needs of the parish in Haiti. Father Mario (Pastor of parish in Haiti) will provide Father Al with monthly intercessions from Our Lady of Lourdes. In turn, they will pray for our parish and the intercessions sent to them.