Vision of Haitian Sister Altagrace

Sister Altagrace

Our Lady has played an important role in the ongoing struggle for equality in Haiti and is still prominent in present efforts to bring about a more equitable balance between rich and poor.  Many of the poor inhabitants prayed to Our Lady of Perpetual Help for the return of President Aristide. They believed Pope Johan Paul II’s public admonishment of the government of Jean-Claude Duvalier was an answer to their prayer.  Meanwhile at the same time Sister Altagrace, a Haitian nun, reported that the Blessed Virgin had appeared to her in visions and told her that the return of Aristide to power was inspired by the devil.  Although the apparition was never approved by the Holy See as authentic, the Catholic elite of Haiti promoted it in order to launch a campaign against U.S. involvement in reinstating Aristide to power.  The elite as well as the poor in Haiti claim to be Catholic and both presume to be guided and assisted by the Our Lady of Perpetual Help as patroness.

Rey discusses class differences among Catholics in Haiti in his 1999 book Our Lady of Class Struggle, but does not consider gender differences in depth. “Our Lady of Class Struggle broaches a conversational opening about politics, religion, and the uses of imagery in Haiti, all within the crucially important frame of class struggle reality. Rey brings many voices to this conversation. Unusually for most contemporary investigators, he gives a well-described place to elite religious practice and belief. Perhaps because many elite men conduct most of their lives outside (perhaps even "out of sight of") the church, the description is largely limited to women. It is not as clear that this is similar among the poor. It would be helpful to see more data and rationale regarding gender differentials.”

Erzulie Spirit of Motherhood

The Taíno were a pantheistic nation with several female deities.  In the 19^th century the native practice blended together with West African slave worship of female deities Erzulie, Ayezan, Ayida.  When Catholic devotion to the Our Lady of Perpetual Help was introduced, the image of Our Lady was conflated with one or more of these.  Erzulie is the goddess most commonly conflated with Mary in Haiti.  Erzulie, also spelled Ezili, represents the spirit of motherhood, single motherhood in particular.  Today if you ask to see an image of Ezili in Haiti, you will be presented with the image of Black Madonna of Częstochowa.  The origin of this image in Haiti is believed to be in copies of the icon of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa brought to Haiti by Polish soldiers fighting on both sides of the Haitian Revolution from 1802 onwards.   Worship of Our Lady in Haiti is not devotion in the European Catholic sense of that word.  Haitian devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help aka Ezili is associated with the black creole pig of Haiti which is said to be her favorite animal sacrifice.  Other altar offerings include creme de cacao, rum, perfume and strong unfiltered cigarettes.  

Ezili became a mythic figure of heroic proportions during the revolution of 1791. “The Revolution which created the nation of Haiti was inspired by the divine decree of the warrior love goddess known as Ezili Dantò who danced in the head of the great Haitian priestess, Cecile Fatiman, on that famous Haitian night in 1791, on a red hilltop, at a forest thicket in Haiti called Bwa Kayiman. Led by the powerful warrior spirit of Ezili Dantò, Cecile Fatiman crowned the African warrior Boukman with her royal red Petwo scepter, ushering in the Haitian war which forever slashed the chains of European slavery in Haiti to create Africa’s sacred trust, Manman Ayiti – the first Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. Ezili Dantò is the symbol of the irreducible essence of that ancient Black mother, mother of all the races, who holds Haiti’s umbilical cord back to Africa."

20th Century Haiti

During the 20^th century deeper problems continued as the county lacked the resources to build itself into a nation worthy of the sovereignty it sought with such vigor.  Illiteracy, violence, organized crime, political corruption, destitution, disease and death make it one of the most impoverished nations in the world today.   The January 2010 earthquake was a major setback for educational and health care reform in Haiti as it diverted limited resources from reform to survival. Literacy levels remain near 50%.  Haiti is one of the lowest-ranked countries in the world, 177th out of 186, for national spending on education (Franz).  Haiti was devastated by the earthquake that left behind more than 10 million cubic meters of debris. Densely populated slums consist of ramshackle houses and 1.5 million people have been displaced to 1,300 settlement sites.  Pope Benedict XVI expressed his prayer that God would grant peace and consolation to Haiti and promised that "the Catholic Church, through her institutions, will remain beside the people tried by this disaster beyond the lively emotions that have been aroused… In this moment of darkness," Pope Benedict XVI stated, "I invoke Our Lady of Perpetual Help that she would be a mother of tenderness and guide hearts so that solidarity will prevail over isolation and the attitude of ‘every man for himself.’” (Benedict XVI)

Food and Nursing

In 2010 the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic sent Sisters to Haiti to work in a food program at a local children’s center and provide care and nursing at a health clinic that serves over 1,000 patients daily. “The earthquake exacerbated the already constraining factors on Haiti's educational system.  One out of three women has experienced violence. Only 20% of children have an opportunity to attend primary school.  Over 400,000 children are without parents. Thousands of children have various degrees of malnutrition and 42% of children less than 5 years of age suffer from stunt of growth.  Many more die in provinces due to lack of medicine and care. “Similar to the Holy Family, the Haitian people are in desperate need and must rely on the mercy of others to help them. As one of our sisters have witnessed “Haitians are remarkable people. They have hope where we would see no hope.”

Looking Out to Sea

Since last summer I've had several adventures renewing my spirit and energies before taking up my new ministry as Chaplain at Valley Medical Center in San Jose. In August I completed my 4th unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at John Muir Medical Center and moved to St. Simon's Convent in Los Altos, CA. I moved on August 31 and began my new position on September 1. The hospital is an amazing place and I am so grateful to be a part of providing quality care there. It has an adult level one trauma center, a pediatric level one trauma center, a spinal cord injury center, a rehabilitation trauma center, a traumatic brain injury center and a burn center. Needless to say the need for spiritual care is high and its an exciting place to work. After my first week of orientation, an experience that my Protestant counterpart, Chaplain Larry, aptly described as "drinking from the firehose," I flew solo for a week and then had two weeks off for retreat and vacation. I made a private retreat using the Book of Pastoral Rule by St. Gregory the Great and days at the ocean to renew my spirit. I visited Chicago to gather data for a section of a book I am writing on Devotion to Mary in the Dominican Missions. Then reconnected with family in Concord, NH and friends from high school in Exeter, NH. This image looking out to sea at Hampton Beach is my favorite photo from vacation. Even though it is a marine war memorial, I remember this statue fondly because it is so beautiful. She reminds me of my mother who died twenty years ago yesterday. My mom and dad took me to Hampton Beach often as a young child. I remember the smell of sea breeze, the feeling of them holding me up in the water and the sound of the sea gulls. I remember the fun of collecting and tasting tiny purple periwinkles. Happy memories!