The Holy Cross Mission Center, sponsored by the United States Province, supports locations for which the U.S. Province has direct jurisdiction (Districts ofChile,East Africa,Perúand the Region ofMéxico), and maintains a special relationship with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Province of Bangladesh. The Mission Center additionally coordinates special mission initiatives, like relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the Holy Cross Mission Center is seeking support for the Haiti Hurricane Matthew Relief Fund.
Hurricane Matthew, a powerful category 4 storm, made landfall on Haiti early Tuesday, October 4, 2016, just south of Duchity, the area where Holy Cross serves the Church in St. Mary Magdalene Parish and St. Thomas the Apostle School, as well as its health clinic.
The death toll is near 500 (as of October 7), and fuller awareness of the destruction is growing each day. Most of this island nation was greatly affected, including the capital, Port-au-Prince, while the most severe damage took place in the southern region of the country.
Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, families displaced, and water supply contaminated. Farmland for fruits and vegetables has been destroyed by mudslides … so much has been lost in this region.
There are currently about 1,000 people taking shelter by living in the school, since there is no where else for them to safely take shelter. Almost all communication has been cut and major road access blocked, due to bridges being destroyed by the storm. Currently, it is close to impossible to arrive by land to assess the needs, care for those who are stranded, and bring necessary supplies and medical items.
The Holy Cross Mission Center is receiving donations from individuals, groups, parishes or schools – anyone who would like to make a gift – to support the relief effort to meet the needs of the poor and those seriously affected by the hurricane in Duchity and the surrounding area.
If you would like to make a donation for Haiti hurricane relief, please visit our online giving page and click the check box marked “Haiti Hurricane Matthew Relief Fund.”
You are guaranteed that any donation received will go to its intended recipient, the needs of those in the Duchity, Haiti area, served by the Congregation of Holy Cross. Any donations will arrive to those in need in the areas where Holy Cross works.
Thank you and God bless.Se put Bondye beni Ayiti ak pep ayisyen an!
(May God Bless Haiti and the Haitian People! – in Haitian Creole)
More about the Holy Cross Mission Center
Holy Cross Mission Center, which began as the Holy Cross Foreign Mission Society, was established in 1923 in Washington, D.C., by several brothers and priests under the leadership of Rev. Michael Mathis, C.S.C. Its initial purpose was to support the missions in Bengal (now Bangladesh). In 1958, East Africa was added as a responsibility. Then the Foreign Mission Society was reconstituted under broader auspices as the “Holy Cross Mission Center” and in 1986 the Center was moved to offices within Moreau Seminary on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
Today the Holy Cross Mission Center is sponsored by the United States Province and supports those locations for which the U.S. Province has direct jurisdiction: Districts ofChile,East Africa(Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda),Perúand the Region ofMéxico.
Globally, the U.S. Province’s Holy Cross Mission Center supports the international mission work of theworldwide effortsof the Congregation of HolyCross, spanning 16 countries on five continents. It also also supports those areas with which the U.S. Province has a special relationship, for example the Sacred Heart of Jesus Province ofBangladesh, along with coordinating special mission initiatives, like relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and assisting the Congregation’s other districts, provinces and the general administration.
The Mission Center also provides assistance, hospitality, health care and logistical support to members of the U.S. Province and religious from throughout the Congregation visiting the United States; facilitates scholarship awards made available through the Universities of Notre Dame and Portland for Holy Cross indigenous religious; and sponsors collaborative educational and volunteer opportunities, including twinning programs, with parishes and schools.
