On September 8, 2020, the anniversary of the arrival of the Congregation's first missionaries to the country, the Holy Cross family from Haiti met to celebrate the First and Final Professions in the Saint Joseph Chapel of the Sisters of Saint Joseph de Saint-Vallier in Cap-Haïtien. Fr. Eric Jasmin, Superior of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Province, presided and preached at the Mass.

The four novices who made their First Profession, having completed their Novitiate year of formation, were: Mr. Kerwins Eb Byas, C.S.C., Mr. Gassendy Chery, C.S.C., Mr. Roosevelt Françoise, C.S.C., and Mr. Kingstar Jean-Pierre, C.S.C.

The four seminarians who made their Final Profession, giving their definitive yes to the Lord, in the same Mass were: Mr. Garry Almonor, C.S.C., Mr Ugues Jadel Joseph, C.S.C., Mr. Jamscey Guevara Pierre, C.S.C., and Mr. Dieusel Regulus, C.S.C. 

In his homily for the occasion, Fr. Jasmin helped the professed to better understand the meaning of their commitment to the Church in Haiti. He emphasized that they had received from their elders an inheritance that must be preserved at all costs and paired with the competence to see and the courage to act.

After the ceremony, respecting hygiene rules, participants were invited to go to the Notre Dame du Perpétuel Secours College to share a festive meal with the community.

Learn more about Holy Cross in Haiti

The following Sunday, September 13, the four seminarians who had just made their Final Profession were ordained deacons in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Cap-Haïtien by the imposition of the hands of the Most Rev. Launay Saturné, Archbishop of Cap-Haïtien.

In his homily, Bishop Saturné especially insisted on the meaning of forgiveness and of the gratuitous service that the deacon, following in the footsteps of Christ and the Congregation's founder, Blessed Basile Moreau, is called to reflect and to share.

Deacon Dieusel Regulus hails from Aguamite, a town located in the heights of the northeastern department of Haiti on December  20, 1984. He got to know Holy Cross through a friend in Cap-Haïtien and decided to follow Christ in the community, making his First Profession on September 8, 2013. He speaks of the "immense joy that the Lord has chose me, despite my frailty, to participate in his saving mission for our world." Deacon Regulus will live at the Provincial House in Port-au-Prince while studying.

Deacon Ugues Jadel Joseph was born on July 4, 1990 in Cap-Haïtien. Having made his primary and secondary education with the Brothers of Christian Instruction, he got to know Holy Cross through activities at Collège Notre-Dame in Cap-Haïtien. He made his First Profession on September 8, 2013. Now, he says, "I thank the Lord for calling me to work in his vineyard despite my smallness. May he make me an apostolic person and an evangelical worker for the glory of his name!" Deacon Joseph will begin his ministry at Notre Dame du Perpétuel Secours College in Cap-Haïtien.

Deacon Jamscey Guevara Pierre hails from a large family in Port-au-Prince, in which he began to learn what it is to live community life. He was attracted to Holy Cross through a talk he heard given by a Holy Cross religious on the Congregation's charism as educators in the faith. He says, "By joining this congregation, I was able to find, not only my place, but also a new family that prioritizes fraternity above all else, perpetuating the inheritance of our Founding Father, Blessed Basile Moreau. Deacon Pierre will continue his ministry at the Joseph Lepévédic School and at the Sainte-Croix College in Limbé.

Deacon Garry Almonor, C.S.C., was born in Ferrier on June 21, 1986, and is the youngest of four siblings. He did is secondary studies at Collège Saint Eugène de Mazenod in Fort-Liberté, which is where he got to know the Congregation. "It is from there that my vocation and my desire to return to Holy Cross flows," he says. After starting studies in agricultural science, he joined Holy Cross in 2011 and made his First Profession on September 8, 2013. Now, Deacon Almonor will begin ministry at Père Perard College in Plaisance.