Standing with Haiti

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 Standing with Haiti is a project that St. Anthony Parish in Renton established, devoted to enhancing the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ from Ste. Anne de Hyacynthe Parish and School in Haiti.  This devotion is lived out faithfully by praying for and nurturing the relationship with the people of Ste. Anne and in a very tangible way to financially support the Parish and School (grades 1-9).


The picture above was taken during St. Anthony's visit to Ste. Anne in 2017.  Before the current unrest in Haiti, St. Anthony Parish would send a delegation to Haiti every year and the last time this happened was in 2018.  The mission trips were in collaboration with Outreach to Haiti, a ministry sponsored by the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut.

St. Louise Parish has joined with St. Anthony's efforts and together we are Standing with Haiti.

The Catholic Faith Formation Department of the Archdiocese conducted an assessment of the Faith Formation programs at St. Anthony Parish in 2009.

The results of the assessment indicated that a large parish such as theirs was lacking in not having a connection to a parish beyond our borders.             

In January of 2010, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti.  St. Anthony Parish learned that the granddaughter of parishioners John and Annette Hightower, who was doing Volunteer Mission work in Haiti, was killed in the earthquake.   Molly Hightower, 22 years old, was volunteering for one year in Haiti with Friends of the Orphans.  She was a graduate of Bellarmine High School and the University of Portland.  Their parish felt deeply the Hightower family’s loss of Molly.  Her mission in Haiti, coupled with our call to partner with a parish outside of our borders served to inspire our eventual involvement there.  The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere was now even further devastated by the death and destruction of the terrible earthquake.

St. Anthony Parish would find a way to help in Haiti.

To begin the process of establishing a long-term relationship with another parish, Fr. Gary Zender, the pastor at St. Anthony at that time, met with the JustFaith Team (a ministry promoting an understanding of the Catholic Social Teachings), the Pastoral Council, school leaders, Parish groups, staff, and Archdiocesan officials. They explored the feasibility of embarking on such a project, and in June of 2012. Fr. Gary and the Pastoral Council Chair attended The One Table Conference in Washington D.C., under the auspices of the Catholic Relief Services.

There they met with Haitian Bishops and clergy, and Fr. Frank Rouleau with Outreach to Haiti, a Catholic organization that facilitates a Parish Twinning process.  With hearts open to the Master’s Word, the guidance of Outreach and with the leadership of the JustFaith Team, St. Anthony’s relationship and Covenant with a sister Parish in Haiti began to take shape.

The first delegation of travelers to Haiti from St. Anthony was in October 2012.  The Haitian Bishop assigned two parishes from the Archdiocese of Port au Prince to our team.  Their delegation was to visit both parishes, then begin a prayerful discernment process upon returning home. The entire delegation felt a calling to Ste. Anne de Hyacynthe, which ultimately became their twinned parish.

Ste. Anne de Hyacynthe is located outside of Port au Prince, just 5 km up a very rugged mountain road from the town of Petit Goave, about 60 km west of Port au Prince via a coastal road.  At the top of the mountain lies the village of Hyacinth.  Ste. Anne Parish serves the Catholic community there and has four outlying chapels, each about two-hours distance from the church.  The parish serves about 7,000 Catholics, and staffs a school, grades 1 through 9, with a Principal and several lay teachers.  The pastor is Pe (Fr.) Josue Seide, who was assigned to the parish in 2010.

The earthquake of 2010 had flattened all of the buildings, including the church, which was 100 years old.  All that remains is a flat concrete slab that was once the foundation.  The church was contained in a temporary structure with a tin roof on wooden beams, which covers wood benches acquired from Caritas International, a Catholic organization founded to assist in nearly every country in times of emergency and crisis.  The rectory was built after the earthquake.  It is a solid four-room building, which lacks electricity and plumbing, like the rest of the village.

Pe Josue serves the community not only as their priest, but also as doctor, judge, advocate, and advisor to the people, as these services are absent in the village of Hyacynthe.  There are no jobs or employment other than the subsistence farming that provides food to the people.  When that is not enough, they go hungry.  The needs are many at our Sister parish, but their faith is great.  They are materially poor, but spiritually rich.


On September 9, 2016, Ste. Anne’s opened new school building near the current facility.  The building was made possible by a grant from the Digicel Foundation in Haiti.  Prior to the opening of the new facility, the school was housed in the temporary structure that contains the present church.

St. Anthony Parish, and now together with St. Louise, supports St. Anne spiritually through prayers.  Financial support helps with:

• Pastor’s vehicle - funding for a driver, maintenance, and fuel for the vehicle.
• Teacher’s salaries - salaries of the teachers and Principal of Ste. Anne’s School, grades 1-9.
• School Feeding Program - funding the meals, which are provided for school children, teachers, and cooks on school days.
• School Uniforms
• Textbooks