By Greg Head, Special to The Message
“One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ‘Take nothing for your journey,’ he instructed them. ‘Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes’” (Luke 9:1-3).
Have you ever wondered how the apostles must have felt when Jesus sent them out on the most relevant mission trip in Christian history? They were tasked with spreading the Gospel to all nations and building Christ’s church. Yet, they were to take nothing with them. They were to walk by faith.
Over 2,000 years later, this mission continues. Disciples are still being called to continue growing the church. What’s more, there are people among us who are called to start brand new churches in poor, rural villages where the people currently have no access to a church. This is the story I want to tell — of a man of God, taking on the mind-boggling yet exciting and inspiring task of building a brand new church in northern Haiti.
It was the spring of 2021 when we first met Father Antoine Jean-Noel, assistant pastor of St. Jacques Majeure parish in Plaine du Nord, Haiti. St. Jacques is a sister parish to St. Joseph Parish in Vanderburgh County (The author’s home parish). He had been assigned to St. Jacques a year earlier, during the first year of COVID, so our team was meeting him for the first time.
From the beginning, Father Antoine was a very pleasant, personable and spiritual man. He was eager to communicate with the team via Google translate and always willing to help us in any way he could. Having acquired the skills of a tailor to earn his way through seminary, he was particularly helpful and supportive of our sewing trade school on the St. Jacques campus over the next several years. Ordained in May 2018, Father Antoine dreamed of one day being Pastor of his own parish. That opportunity became a reality in September 2024, when Father Antoine was named the founding pastor of a new parish in the Cap Haitien diocese of northern Haiti — St. Monique de Pistere. A dream come true, right? But, as often is the case, there was a catch.
In November 2024, I had the opportunity to travel to Haiti with Chad Martin, both of us from St. Joseph Parish and active in the church’s Haiti Outreach Ministry. As usual, our typical plans were to visit our sister parish of St Jacques and meet with the pastor, review current and future project plans, build relationships in the community, and simply enjoy being with our brothers, sisters and the beautiful children of Plaine du Nord. However, on this trip, we also took the opportunity to meet with Father Antoine.
He was anxious to take us to the property where his new church will one day become a reality. We traveled by truck through the busy streets of Cap Haitien, the second largest city in Haiti, to the rectory where Father Antoine currently resides — about a 45-minute drive to the new parish. We then traveled along the secondary roads heading east until we exited onto a muddy, single-lane dirt road that led to the community of Pistere de Limonade. This rural community of about 15,000 is in the communal section called Raucou. Approximately 9,000 of the residents there are Catholic. This small community has been designated by Archbishop Monsignor Launay Saturne as one of the newest parishes in the diocese.
Upon arrival, an excited Father Antoine introduced us to community leaders of the new parish. We were welcomed with warm smiles and firm handshakes. As we were given the grand tour, where one would expect to find a church building and rectory, there is a dirt field where local children play soccer. He has been given the directive to build this parish from the ground up — literally.
From the empty field, we then ventured on foot to a small block chapel — Sacred Heart of Jesus — where services are currently conducted until a larger church can be built. It was here that we stopped and took the opportunity to pray with this group, to ask God’s favor and blessing over Father Antoine and the leaders, and for the vision of St. Monique to become a reality. As we exited the building, I noticed a simple piece of metal hanging from a tree. It is used as a bell to announce that it is time for services. It struck me that this simple “bell” welcomes the people of Pistere de Limonade to worship, just as the large bells of Notre Dame Cathedral invite people to celebrate Mass in Paris.
Our group then walked a long distance down another dirt path, leading us to a piece of property donated to use as a new school. Father Antoine also hopes to start a sewing program for the young people there, where he would initially teach them sewing skills they could use for their livelihood.
Chad and I left Father Antoine that day, amazed and deeply inspired by the enthusiasm, hopes and dreams of Father Antoine and his church representatives. What some may view as a monumental, if not impossible task, they view as an opportunity to preach the Word of God and to be the hands and feet of Jesus to this small rural community. This is quite literally a picture of faith — believing what you cannot yet see!
Father Antoine emphasized to us that although he is the founding priest in a very disadvantaged area, and although it is one of the poorest areas in northern Haiti, that as a young priest, it is by God’s grace he is given this first experience as a parish pastor.
“I see Jesus every day in the eyes of my faithful and all the poor of this locality, without distinction, because they are all children of God,” Father Antoine said. “What a precious gift for the people here to have a parish church where they can worship our Creator and provident God.”
What a challenge Father Antoine and his parish face. Here is the “catch” I mentioned earlier. He currently has no salary, no startup funds, no rectory in which to live and no means of transportation from the rectory where he currently resides. The rural community he serves is a simple, impoverished community of faith that strive daily to feed their families and support their children through intermittent job opportunities, small gardens, street markets and small home-based kiosks.
As we returned home to Evansville, we felt a calling to share this story with our community in Evansville.
If you have questions or want to help, contact Greg Head at 812-455-3903 or Chad Martin at 812-454-2785. See this community in action at their current chapel on Facebook at Paroisse Sainte Monique de Pistere, Limonade.
“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:19-20).