Haitian archbishop calls for peace during Pope Francis' day of prayer

VATICAN CITY — A Haitian Catholic archbishop is among those speaking out in the name of peace at Synod on Synodality in Rome, where more than 350 delegates are gathered for a monthlong meeting to discuss change in the Church.

Archbishop Launay Saturné of Cap-Haitien, whose country has been mired in violence for decades, shared comments on Monday as part of a global day of prayer and fasting for peace organized by Pope Francis on the anniversary of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

“We launch a call for peace. We must reconcile with ourselves,” Saturné told Vatican News in a video promoting the Holy Father’s initiative. It was part of a multi-day appeal that featured a procession and rosary in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday and a Rosary for Peace the next day with synod delegates and pilgrims at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

"When the pope invites us to pray,” Saturné added, “we feel solidarity with other countries because we truly know what it is to not live in peace. We need that peace ourselves and will pray for other countries so that this peace becomes a reality in Haiti and in the world.”

The archbishop’s comments reflect the gravity of a worsening situation in Haiti, where gang rule has persisted in the nation’s capital for more than a year, the result of a yearslong gang war dating back to 2020. Most of the city’s population has since fled, and the nation has had no functioning government since 2021—with no elected officials currently serving in office.

Saturné has linked the ongoing strife with the themes of this year’s synod session, which center around communion, participation, and mission. These, he says, are hampered by the violence as well as government inaction. Specifically, Saturné spoke of a massacre perpetrated by the Gran Grif gang on Oct. 3, leaving at least 70 dead.

Still, Haitian Church leaders have pressed forward with synodal initiatives, however sparse, in an effort to strengthen young people and build for the future on an island where roughly two-thirds of the population is Catholic.

“In my archdiocese, for instance, for the second session [of the synod], we convened with the men and women religious and the clergy through the parishes, and we managed to organize meetings,” Saturné said during a press conference in Rome on Oct. 5.

“The values promoted by the synod… are fundamental for a country such as mine and the Church, through preaching, formation, and through education. There are so many groups in my country, men and women religious and priests who try to pass these values on to the faithful, to young people, so that one day, they can establish democracy in our country.”

The archbishop emphasized that the Haitian laypeople must also take an active role in pursuing peace and order, which he called an imperative of the Church and “the responsibility of everyone.”

Since its establishment in 1804 as the first free Black republic in the world, Haiti has been marked by violence and insecurity, both due to the internal fallout from its revolution and punitive measures taken by Western powers. The country has long been wracked with poverty stemming from an independence debt extracted by France for more than a century, as well as political instability worsened by a two-decade U.S. occupation and a U.S.-backed coup in 2004.

A total of eight Haitian presidents have been deposed in the 20th century, including two assassinations, most recently in 2021. Economic instability and corruption have led to nationwide protests since 2018, resulting in thousands of kidnappings—including Catholic clergy and women religious—and nearly 5,000 homicides this year. The erstwhile prime minister Ariel Henry resigned from his position under duress earlier this year, shortly after the evacuation of U.S. and European state officials.

Prior to this week’s centering of Haiti at the Vatican via Saturné—one of only two Black Caribbean synod delegates, both of whom are Haitian—Pope Francis publicly called for prayers earlier this year to address the island's ills.

“The Church believes that her mission consists in accompanying the people, and we are very careful in paying attention to the magisterium of the Holy Father, who is always close to our people whenever there is a problem,” said Saturné. 

“He prays for us. He sends us messages. And on behalf of the [Conférence Episcopale de Haïti], I wish to thank the Holy Father for his Magisterium and for his attention to Haiti and its church.”

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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