'If It Wasn't For The Presence Of The Church In Haiti, These People Would Have No Hope'

About 12 years ago, Rita Torrence, a member of  Holy Rosary Parish in Evansville, read in The Message about a conference scheduled at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Daylight regarding the Parish Twinning Program featuring the director of the PTP, Theresa Patterson. Torrence felt an enormous push from our Lord to attend, so she could learn about ways Holy Rosary parish could help the people in Haiti. After attending the conference, Torrence returned to Holy Rosary to present the idea of twinning with a Haitian parish to then-pastor Father Raymond Kuper and the parish council. And with their approval, Holy Rosary was twinned with Notre Dame de la Nativite Parish in Island de la Tortue, Haiti. 

Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta once said, “If you can’t feed an army, then feed just one.”  Holy Rosary’s mission originally was to feed one malnourished priest, Father Jocelyn Dulce,

pastor of the Haitian parish, so that he could shepherd the people on the island. Father Dulce had 20 miles to cover and frequently made long trips on foot to say Mass in outlying villages. 

Father Kuper arranged to add a Haiti envelope to Holy Rosary’s monthly giving envelope packet, and the monthly collections still continue today. Funds collected have helped with pastoral needs, renovation projects for the church, rectory, hospital and chapels, installation of solar panels, purchase of a small SUV, school tuition, uniforms and books, building of cisterns to hold rain water, food distributions and medicines. 

The parish supplements the donations from Holy Rosary parishioners with income from a coffee business. Nearby the Haitian parish, a groundskeeper stumbled upon a grove of trees loaded with coffee beans in an overgrown, sloping area that has been unused for years. The Haitian Co-Op supplied frames and screens to dry the coffee beans and a grinder to crack the pods, and they taught local men how to harvest the beans. The Co-Op coordinates the sale of the coffee beans, bringing in much-needed funds for the parish. The parish anticipates two crops per year will be harvested. 

Notre Dame de la Nativite Parish is in a very remote location, and visiting the parish is treacherous and dangerous. The Haiti committee from Holy Rosary provides funding for projects most needed. Supplies are purchased in Haiti, and local workers are hired, which helps the struggling economy. 

”If there wasn’t a presence of the Church in Haiti to help the poorest of the poor, these people would have no future and no hope,” said Torrence, who continues as Haiti Chairperson for Holy Rosary Parish. She spoke of her trip to Haiti. “I will always remember the kindness in their eyes, their smiles, their singing, their determination to provide for their children, and their faith in God.”