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May 2015 | catholicvi.com LOCAL NEWS Daily News Readership Award presented to Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul May,the Month of Mary OH MARY, CONCEIVED WITHOUT SIN, PRAY FOR US WHO HAVE RECOURSE TO THEE Inside this issue 3 Local news 7 Special report Venerable Pierre Toussaint: Part 2 of 4. 10 Holy Week Chrism Mass. 12 Holy Week The Sacred Triduum. 14 Journey of faith Ermine Jeffers. 22 World news 22 Parish calendars 25 ¡Buenas noticias! From the Bishop’s Desk On the Cover: My Dear People, Throughout the whole world, people the importance of Mary. She is a necessary of every nationality and religion celebrate part of our relationship with God; she is a the beautiful month of May. In North beautiful part of the practice of our Holy America, May is a month of beauty. The Catholic Faith; she is a significant help as weather is warm and pleasant, the flowers we make our pilgrim way to heaven. are blooming, the grass is green and all If you want to be a saint, love Mary. nature seems to be in a state of rejoicing. If you want to be a true Christian, love For Catholics, May is above and beyond all Mary. If you want to love Jesus more and else, the month dedicated to Our Blessed more, love Mary. And so it is with great Mother. It is a special time when we honor confidence that I dedicate all the priests Our Lady with processions and prayers. and religious of the Diocese of St. Thomas, Our Lady is crowned the Queen of May, the all the parishes and schools located on our Immaculate Heart of Mary, Leopold Queen of our churches, the Queen of the three beautiful islands, all our efforts to Kupelwieser, edited by Diana Ringo, diocese and the Queen of all our hearts. In serve the poor through Catholic Charities, 2013; Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via this world, when there are so many terrible all our families and each and every one of Wikimedia Commons© forces pulling us away from God and His you to Our Blessed Lady. As I do so, I think Kingdom, it is a great source of happiness of the motto I chose when I was ordained a to know that the Mother of Jesus Christ is a bishop; "Sub Tuum Praesidium" which are Please submit stronger force, keeping us close to her son. the first words of the ancient prayer "We fly news and digital photography for Every saint who has ever lived has known to your patronage, O Holy Mother of God.” the June 2015 issue of The Catholic Islander by May 4, 2015. The Magazine of the Father John Matthew Fewel Charlotte Banks Brother James Petrait, OSFS EDITOR Roman Catholic Diocese Lillia King WEBMASTER ADVERTISING of St. Thomas in the Sarah Jane von Haack Submit advertising to: Virgin Islands MANAGING EDITOR Christine Joseph Deacon Emith Fludd Proof Reader [email protected]. Most Reverend Herbert Bevard Jenny Bis CIRCULATION PUBLISHER GRAPHIC DESIGNER www.FAITHcatholic.com 2 The Catholic Islander / May 2015 / www.catholicvi.com Local News Msgr. Jerome Feudijo, the cathedral rector, receives Daily News award on behalf of Cathedral Parish - The Daily News presented Msgr. Jerome Feudjio, rector of The Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul, with its Readership Award for the Top Religious Historical Site in St. Thomas for 2015. A group from Denmark was visiting the cathedral and happily joined Monsignor on the altar steps for this photo. At the annual Presbyteral Meeting convened just before the Chrism Mass, Bishop Herbert Bevard shares the Daily News Father Simon Opira (right), parochial vicar of St. Anne Award with Father Anthony Abraham and the diocesan priests. Barrenspot, and Father John Mark, pastor of St. Joseph Church. 3 Local News Msgr. Jerome Feudjio is surrounded by extraordinary ministers of the holy Eucharist, who Msgr. Jerome receives the children’s were commissioned to carry Communion to the sick and the homebound. offerings on Laetare Sunday. Young ushers at the cathedral carry out very important duties with care, Sunday after Deacon Wilfredo Acosta prays Friday Sunday; here they return after presenting gifts at the Offertory. evening Stations of the Cross with people of the Cathedral Parish and visitors during the fourth week of Lent. 4 The Catholic Islander / May 2015 / www.catholicvi.com Palm Sunday Holy Week 2015 Our Lady of Mount Carmel held processions at the 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Masses on Palm Sunday. 5 Palm Sunday Holy Week 2015 St. Patrick Church celebrates Palm Sunday. Blessing of the palms was done before the 7 a.m. Mass at St. Joseph Church, Kingshill. Father John Mark (left), pastor of St. Joseph Church, was assisted by Deacon James Verhoff. Michael Matthews, maintenance worker at St. Ann Church, Barrenspot, prepares the palm branches for the Sunday celebration. 6 The Catholic Islander / May 2015 / www.catholicvi.com Special Report Before leaving Haiti, Berard had arranged to rent a home on New York's Reade Street. Soon after settling into the house, his master enlisted Pierre as an apprentice to a Mr. Merchant, one of the city's leading hairdressers. The young slave, intelligent and deft, made rapid progress under Merchant's careful training. Pierre had genuine talent for the complicated art of coiffure. The day's hairstyles were most elaborate; hairdressers' fees were substantial. It was not unusual for a lady of fashion to spend $1,000 yearly on the care and dressing of her hair. It was no small amount when we remember that a man who had an income of $10,000 a year was considered wealthy. Pierre brought both skill and a unique personality to his work. Courteous, kind and cheerful, Pierre attracted people. His quiet wit and gaiety lifted the spirits of those about him. It was not long before he had many customers. Members of the Berard household took it for granted that, as soon as the HTTP://ANGELSTUDIOSTORE.COM/ © troubles in Haiti were over, the family would return. Jean Berard brought only enough funds to maintain his family comfortably for a year in New York. News from Haiti, however, was scarce in coming. What little did leak through was all bad. Premonitions of serious trouble grew among New York's Frenchmen, many of whom had family ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL MORAN, C.P., and financial interests in Haiti. Rumors and uncertainty grew too much for Jean Berard. He decided to return to Haiti to Venerable Pierre Toussaint look to his plantation. Haiti's bloody ferment was coming to a boil as Monsieur Berard returned. As the Berards fortunes were consumed with their plantation by The terror, fear and mutual hatred that the horrendous conflagration that engulfed Haiti, young Pierre, infected all levels of the island's society his sister and Mrs. Berard carved out a life in New York among exploded in an orgy of vicious crime and reprisal. Blacks had discovered a many expatriate Haitians and French colonists new weapon, which they wielded with ease. Haiti's great sugar fields were often PART 2 OF 4 devastated by invasions of the dreaded sugar ant. To protect their sugar crops, French planters used arsenic as a poison. Americans, still basking in the glow of his decisive defeat of Gen. Cornwallis at Negro slaves soon learned to use the their victory over the British and their newly Yorktown in 1781. New Yorkers welcomed arsenic to destroy their owners' crops, won independence, were full of confidence and respected the members of the small cattle, wives, children and, of course, in their future. Yankee gratitude flowed French colony who had settled among their cruel masters as well. readily to the French, who had dramatically them. It was this group of Frenchmen that Runaway slaves hid in the countryside and effectively assisted Washington in Monsieur Berard and his family joined. and formed ravaging bands that attacked By Boniface Hanley, O.F.M. 7 Special Report "Madame, please take these." "I thought you were to sell those," Marie said. Pierre brought both skill and a "It was not necessary, Madame. I had some money left over from my work. Also, unique personality to his work. I did not spend the generous New Year's present you gave me." Courteous, kind and cheerful, Pierre As delicately as possible, Pierre pressed the jewelry on Marie. "My work is going attracted people. His quiet wit and gaiety very well," Pierre explained, "and I would like to arrange to provide a certain sum lifted the spirits of those about him." each week for household expenses until these financial difficulties pass." French exiles in New York felt it was only a matter of time until French armies and fleets would restore order to Haiti. Madame the unwary; they burned, pillaged and announcement that Jean Berard had died Berard, nourished by the illusion that her raped. Violence on the part of blacks and of pleurisy on the plantation. West Indian properties would soon be settled, whites escalated to barbarian intensity. One night in August 1797, shortly after accepted Pierre's assistance. She planned Jean Berard wrote to his anxious family Berard's death, when the island was lashed to repay Toussaint as soon as possible. Like in New York: "As for our property, I fear by a tropical storm, bands of slaves swept most of her compatriots, Marie Berard badly we will be unable to control its destiny. across its northern portion, burning, underestimated black leadership in Haiti. We must wait to see what will be spared looting and murdering.