This week, Bishop Thomas Wenski, Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando, has been visiting Haiti on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to assess the recovery efforts that are currently underway in the earthquake stricken country. Throughout his visit, Bishop Wenski has been writing brief reflections about the progress that is being made as a result of the efforts of the Catholic Church. Below are the reflections as they appeared on the Diocese of Orlando website.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Thursday after Mass in Leogann where once a parish church stood we traveled across the mountains to Jacmel on Haiti’s Southeast coast. The city is known for its art and was a popular tourist destination for Haitians from Port-au-Prince.

The city’s cathedral was built in the 1840′s and part of the cultural patrimony of the nation did not collapse. However it sustained sufficient damage to render it unusable.

Other parishes in the Jacmel area were completely demolished. At the school run by Christian brothers since the 1880′s makeshift classrooms set up in the school courtyard now serve four different schools through a multiple shift schedule.