Fèt Sen Franswa (Feast of St. Francis)

Today is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  The Catholic Church here in Grand Goave is named for him making him the patron saint of Grand Goave and today a local feast day, or holiday.  Actually, the Catholic school children here have three days off from school, the day before, the day of and day after the fèt.  Even our children who attend the Protestant school did not have classes today, except certain grades had a physical education or exercise program at school this morning. 

Since Thursday is my day off I decided to attend the feast day liturgy at the parish.  It seemed like it would be a good experience of the local culture, would get me out of the building on my day off and I like St. Francis. I guessed it could be about three hours long, and I was correct; for years I consistently underestimated when predicting the length of Haitian masses. 

Parish feast days are a big deal for many parishes in Haiti and often for the towns (or neighborhoods in larger cities) that those parishes are in.  My first year in Cap-Haitian, I attended such a mass on the Feast of the  Immaculate Conception. Being in a different part of Haiti, helps me to get a sense of what aspects of culture are likely very common for the entire country as opposed to simply local traditions. Priests sometimes go to feast days of other parishes to celebrate.  Before the mass I wondered if  I would see any of the Holy Cross men; if any were there I did not recognize them.  There was, however, one familiar face on the altar, the presider actually.  I knew that several months ago the bishop responsible for the Archdiocese of Cap-Haitian had been transferred to Port-au-Prince and I knew that Grand Goave is in the diocese of Port-Au-Prince. Still, I was surprised to see him.  Just about a year ago the same bishop had presided over the perpetual profession liturgy of one of the Sisters of Holy Cross.  Although I don't know him, I had seen him at occasional events in Okap and some of the Holy Cross convents had his picture on the wall.  I was glad that at least this time he did some parts of the mass including some of the homily in Haitian Creole  While surrounded by a sea of new faces, it was kind of nice to see a somewhat familiar one. 

During the homily, the bishop spoke of St. Francis' love of the poor and the environment.  He discussed the importance of these issues in Haiti, where there are so many people in poverty and so many environmental problems. 

Of course, these problems do not exist just here in Haiti and nor are they only to be reflected upon on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  Let us all consider how our actions affect the poor and the earth and pray for and support one another as together we strive to create a sustainable world where everyone's basic needs are adequately met. 

Bon Fèt Sen Franswa!  Happy Feast of St. Francis!