First Catholic Cardinal of Haiti to visit St. Mary’s Church

Cardinal Chibly Langlois, first Haitian cardinal in the Catholic Church and Bishop of Les Cayes, will be visiting the Diocese of Worcester this coming weekend to renew the twinning relationship between parishes in the Diocese of Worcester and the Diocese of Les Cayes, Haiti.

Bishop Robert McManus will welcome Cardinal Chibly for Mass at 2 pm on September 2nd at St. Joseph Church, 35 Hamilton Street, Worcester with the Haitian Choir of Mattapan. A free dinner reception with a festive meal will follow at St. Stephen Parish Hall. Representatives of many of the parishes who are twinning with parishes and schools in Haiti will be on hand to share their experiences. This is a unique opportunity to welcome Cardinal Langlois who would like to express his thanks for the generosity which has been offered by the people of this Diocese.

All are invited to join at the 4:30 PM Saturday Mass as both Bishop McManus and Cardinal Chibly are welcomed to St. Mary’s. Bishop McManus will celebrate Mass and Cardinal Chibly will concelebrate.

Live streamed Mass

If you cannot make it in person to the church, you can still experience the mass thanks to a live stream by the St. Mary Media Ministry.

The mass will be streamed on Saturday at 4:30 PM.

Cardinal Chibly was born on 29 November, 1958 in La Vallée in the diocese of Jacmel in Haiti. He completed his primary studies at the Christian Brothers School in La Vallée, and his secondary education at the “Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial” in Port-au-Prince. In 1985, he entered the Grand Séminaire Notre-Dame in Port-au-Prince where he took courses in philosophy and theology, obtaining a B.A in theology.

He was ordained a priest on September 22, 1991. From 1994 to 1996, he studied at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, where he obtained his licentiate in pastoral theology with the dissertation La nouvelle évangélisation, oeuvre ’inculturation en Haïti (“The new evangelization, work of inculturation in Haiti”).

Following ordination he served as vicar of the Cathedral of Jacmel (1991-1994), and director of the pastoral catechetic diocesan services (1993-1994). Since 1996, he has held the role of director of the Diocesan Centre for Pastoral and Catechetic Formation. Since 1999, he has served as priest of the Parish-Shrine of Mary Immaculate, in the locality of Des Orangers in Jacmel, and professor of pastoral theology at the Grand Séminaire Notre-Dame of Port-au-Prince. Since 2000, he has also held the role of professor at the diocesan institute for education and human promotion in Jacmel.

Appointed bishop of Fort-Liberté on April 8, 2004, he was ordained the following June 6. When his homeland was struck by an earthquake in 2010, he became a leader in the rebuilding efforts and in providing spiritual support.

On August 15 2011, he was appointed as bishop of Les Cayes by the Holy Father Benedict XVI. Since December 2011, he has served as president of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti. He participated in the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (October 2014) on The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization. He was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the consistory of February 22 2014, of the Title of San Giacomo in Augusta (St. Jerome in Augusta).