Life in Chenot – St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church

According to Fr. Jude Cédule, the pastor of St. Anthony the Hermit, there are two forums that bring the community of Chenot together: the market and the parish. The hub of parish life is the old stone church and the rectory, constructed by Swiss missionaries over 50 years ago. Most Sundays find the church bustling with activity as people make their way to worship, hear the Gospel, receive Communion, and enjoy fellowship. Many walk an hour or more on Sundays.

Sunday Mass is scheduled to begin promptly at 9:00 AM, and parishioners begin arriving at 8:30 AM. Fr. Jude is a stickler for promptness. When too many of his flock were becoming careless about their arrival time to Mass, he tapped an usher to distribute a chit to those who were on time, and only they received communion. The system has been quite effective!

On the last Sunday of each month, Mass is geared toward the children. Before Father processes in, Wilber, a college-aged member, leads an enthusiastic congregation in hymns that most know by heart. The children’s choir is large and makes a joyful noise, and the rest of the school children sit in uniform with their classmates on this Sunday. Boy and girl altar servers, lectors, and Fr. Jude enter by a side door, and by that time there is “standing room only.” In order for the scriptures to be meaningful to all, a child offers a short synopsis before each of the readings. Homilies at St. Anthony are long by our standards, running 30-40 minutes. On this particular Sunday, one of the missionaries addressed the congregation.

A small group of dedicated cooks prepares lunch for the 300 middle school students at Cosabel.. Gifts to the Feeding Program include small stipends to pay cooks. Currently, lunch is provided to middle-schoolers only twice a week. The Haiti Ministry would love to increase the frequency of hot lunches that, in turn, encourages attendance.

Less than half of St. Anthony's elementary school students will progress on to middle school. Expense and distance are often the main factors for failure to continue their education. A year's tuition costs about $70. Students who study at the middle school level have most of their major subjects taught in French to be prepared for state exams. While nearly all students will successfully complete middle school, less than 10 of these middle school graduates will be able to attend a regional high school. It takes dedication to stay in school in Haiti. Cosabel is 1 ½ hour walk from St. Anthony's in Chenot; and a regional high school in Petite-Rivière is at least a 3-hour walk from Chenot, not to mention the sharp increase in cost at the high school level.

Water must be carried and firewood must be procured in order to make lunches four times weekly for the younger students. Note the size of the kettles and containers needed for this huge undertaking.

There is more music, and after the Consecration, the teaching sisters assist in Communion distribution while ushers maintain an orderly flow.

A delightful liturgical dance is offered by a small group of adolescents.

In spite of the lengthy liturgy, people traditionally linger and socialize after Mass. Sunday is truly a day of rest, relaxation, and fellowship. It’s not unusual to find clusters of friendly people still chatting and visiting 45 minutes or more after the dismissal.

While much of parish life is focused at the main church, school, and rectory, the parish community also extends to those living beyond a manageable commuting distance. Seven chapels have been established over the years to serve those who would otherwise be forced to travel three hours or more on foot. Fr. Jude makes regular visits to these outlying chapels. In his absence, his sacristans provide Faith Formation and sacramental preparation, offer Liturgies of the Word, and make necessary home visits. These important people even perform routine maintenance and upkeep of the chapels. Their service to St. Anthony’s whole parish mission is immeasurable.

The SIJ missionaries accompanied Fr. Jude on one of his regular visits to the Carrefour Rocher chapel, about 2 ½ hours’ walk from the parish center. Because there are so many sacramental needs to attend to, he normally stays overnight in a primitive stone shelter

Fr. Jude performed numerous baptisms, celebrated two weddings, and heard confessions into the evening on the first day.

Fr. Jude’s visit to the chapels and the sacramental celebrations with remote members of his flock draw large numbers of friends and family. While not all members of St. Anthony join weekly worship at the parish’s center, many of their children make the long trek to the school, and their families are able to stay connected as a vibrant Catholic community because of St. Anthony’s well-organized chapel system.

The Spirit is alive and well and moving at St. Anthony the Hermit parish, at its elementary and middle schools, and among its seven chapels. Much like our own parish, we can say of our sister parish: “the people make the parish.” In Chenot, there is only one priest to meet the needs of a great many, so the laity lives its faith daily by stepping up to be Christ to each other–physically and spiritually. As they live, work and worship together, they are aware of and sincerely grateful for the love we at SIJ extend to them. And we continue to be inspired by their indomitable faith even in the face of poverty and crisis. It is the common language of Christ’s love that holds us in this jumelage (twinning), and both parishes are richer for the relationship.

Contact

Sean Hackett: [email protected]

Shirley Zongker: [email protected]

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Parish Office

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