Feast of St. Genevieve
Sunday, January 28, 2024, 10:00 am Mass
January marks the annual Feast of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of our Sister Parish in Z’Oranje, Haiti. Our Covenant with St. Genevieve parish furthers our Christian mission by reaching out in the world. This relationship deepens our understanding of what it means to live in a global Church and to foster justice, human dignity, and respect for people from different cultures. On January 28th we get just such an opportunity as our St. Patrick & St. Anthony community celebrates the Feast of St. Genevieve at the 10am mass. Please join us as we sing, pray and celebrate in communion with our Sister Parish in Haiti.
Our Sister Parish Committee works tirelessly throughout the year to advocate for the rights and safety of those in Haiti. Following is the text of the Op Ed which appeared in The Hartford Courant on Sunday, January 7, 2024:
For over twenty years St. Patrick St. Anthony Catholic Church in Hartford, CT has had a covenant relationship with the people of St. Genevieve Parish in Zorange Haiti, people who like all Haitians are presently being terrorized by the gangs that are now controlling the country. As one aspect of that covenant, We have supported the parish school mainly with supplying the funds for the teachers’ salaries and student lunches.
Within the last year, we have become very concerned about the deteriorating conditions in which our brothers and sister in Haiti have been forced to live. The gangs that are terrorizing all Haitians have made it impossible for the members of the St. Genevieve community to worship in the church, send their children to school and even to sleep at night in their own homes because gangs make it a practice to burn houses at night even when there are people sleeping in them. A child was recently killed in one of the attacks.
So, we decided to do something about the situation. Our efforts have been joined by representatives of other Catholic parishes in a number of states who have similar relationships with parishes and other agencies in Haiti. Our concerted efforts include the call for action in three areas:
- Sanction the people who are funding the gangs. – The US House of Representatives has passed unanimously and by voice vote authorization for the US government to sanction these people. The authorization has received unanimous approval by voice vote from the relevant Senate committee and now awaits action by the full Senate. Approval is expected from the Senate and President Biden is expected to sign the authorization. Then, we will monitor the situation so that the sanctions are actually imposed.
- Deploy an international peace keeping force in Haiti – The United Nations Security Council has authorized an international peace keeping force for Haiti. Kenya has agreed to lead the force and a number of other nations have agreed to contribute troops to it. The US will not contribute troops but has agreed to cover the force’s costs and provide logistical support for it. It’s expected that the force will be deployed in January, 2024.
- End the illegal shipment of guns and ammunition from the US to the Haitian gangs. – Americans in 31 states are buying armaments legally and then selling them illegally to smugglers who are in turn selling them to the Haitian gangs. We are asking the US government to enforce the law and stop the selling of armaments to the smugglers.
It is important for our Connecticut federal legislators to continue to hear of their constituents’ support for stopping the illegal gun sales and for sanctioning the Haitian gangs’ sponsors. The more people who contact the legislators with their concerns, the greater the probability that peace, stability and security can be re-established for the people of Haiti.
Anita Ellis, Pat Spring, & Joe Cirasuolo – Members of the Sister Parish Committee at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church, Hartford
