The following letter from Fr. Marc-Arthur was received by Jack Lydon of our Sister Parish Committee. Our Cathedral sends funds regularly for the lunch program at St. Therese Montessori. Our Sister Parish Committee had also asked for details about the cost of erecting a structure near their new worship space to mount the bells salvaged from the St. Louis Cathedral destroyed by earthquake, so that they can again be heard throughout their community. Please hold our Sister Parish in prayer. If you wish to know more about our Sister Parish Committee, please call the parish office.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The parishioners of Saint Louis Cathedral and I are pleased to wish you a happy new year 2023. May the Lord grant this best for every brother and every sister of the Cathedral of the Assumption.
The year 2022 has been very difficult from all points of view for the parishioners of the Saint Louis Cathedral. They have faced all kinds difficulties. They experienced fear, hunger, despair. We hope that this year will be better. Given the political crisis that continues to persist in Haiti, the 2022-2023 school year has taken a long time to begin. L'École Sainte Thérèse opened its doors on December 5, 2022. We worked until December 30, 2022. The students had the day off on January 3 and classes resumed on January 4, 2023.
Thanks to your donation to Sainte Thérèse school, the program lunch was able to continue. However the high cost of living, the dizzying rise in food products, caused following the political, social, energy and economic crises in Haiti, make it more and more difficult for the school canteen to operate. A week of canteen currently costs the St Thérèse school, the sum of $ 500. 00 USD unlike previous years when we spent around $ 500. 00 USD per month for the school canteen. The $ 6,500. 00 USD received from the Cathedral of the Assumption can only pay for 13 weeks of food for students of Sainte Thérèse School.
As announced, Sainte Thérèse School has added a new class of students. This is a secondary level class ( NS1). This class recruits students from the 9th fundamental year who have passed the official exams for the year 2021-2022.
Regarding the bells of Saint Louis Cathedral, unfortunately they are not installed. We are having difficulty finding engineers capable of carrying out this project. Moreover, since it is difficult to travel safely in Haiti, we are not in a position to bring a firm from Port-au-Prince to study the project, draw up a plan and prepare an adequate budget for the raising of the bells.
May Saint Louis, our patron saint, deign to intercede for us! May the Lord Jesus bless you!
Father Marc-Arthur Emile
Pastor of Saint Louis Cathedral
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