Extension magazine - Fall 2023

20 INSPIRE
Lumen Christi Finalist
Extension | Fall 2023 21
2023 u 2024
Lumen
Christi
AWARD
FINALIST
Refugee women and girls experience
God’s loving care at San Mateo Parish in San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
The hard part was
supposed to be
over.
The mother and
her 3-year-old had
survived the terrors
of the violent gangs that roam
Haiti, kidnap children and bring
indiscriminate violence down
upon the most vulnerable.
She and her child had survived
the hunger that has racked
the poorest nation in the western
hemisphere. They had survived
the earthquakes and hurricanes
that have killed hundreds and left
FATHER OLIN PIERRE-LOUIS |
ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
Haitian refugees arriving
in rickety boats find shelter
at this priest’s poor parish
thousands homeless over
the past three years. They
had even survived a dangerous
60-mile journey
through the rough waters
at the confluence of the
Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean
Sea, known as the
Mona Passage.
That was supposed to
be the hard part. But as
the rickety boat known
as a “yola” approached
the Puerto Rican shore, it
capsized in the 15-foot swells and
the 3-year-old was thrown from
the mother’s arms. With their destination
literally just meters away,
the mother lost her precious toddler,
who would only return in a
body bag. It was just days before
Christmas.
Then the hard part began for
her and so many other seabound
migrants who have lost loved ones
during their escape.
SAFE PASSAGE FOR FLEEING
FAMILIES
It is our Christian belief that
God’s love is always and everywhere
present to us in every moment—most
especially during the
hard parts of our lives. Sometimes
we imagine God’s love as angels
who come near. Mary, Joseph and
their newborn, Jesus, were refugees
on a dangerous midnight road. The
Holy Family was in a hard and desperate
place. And God’s love came
near. The silent night became a
holy night.
The refugees fleeing the chaos
in Haiti, washing up on the shores
of Puerto Rico, have an angel too.
His name is Father Olin Pierre-
Louis. He brings God’s love to the
desperate.
Father Pierre-Louis is the pastor
of San Mateo Parish in San Juan.
San Mateo is a small parish. Its
weekly collection is only $200, but,
being an angel, Father Pierre-Louis
knows that it does not take a big
budget to live the Gospel.
Father Pierre-Louis, who is Haitian
born, speaks Creole, the language
of the Haitians. He is now
a priest of the Archdiocese of San
Juan. Puerto Rican federal immigration
authorities, at a loss to help
the hundreds of desperate Haitians
washing up on their shores, release
the Haitians from detention and
ask Father Pierre-Louis to drive
four hours round trip to Puerto Rico’s
western coast to pick up the
refugees and help them.
Father Pierre-Louis makes room
for them in his poor parish. It is
amazing how much room God’s
love can make. San Mateo’s tiny
parish hall, which is connected to
the church, is a makeshift migrant
shelter. It can house up to 80 people,
who sleep on mats on the floor
and cook for themselves in the
parish’s kitchen where people can
donate food supplies. Those who
need to stay longer can find rooms
in the boiler room. No square inch
of the parish goes unused.
Frederick, a former Haitian ref-
Father Olin Pierre-Louis gazes at
the dangerous Caribbean waves.
He regularly crosses the sea by
ferry to bring refugees back safely.
ugee, has been helping out at the
parish for 14 years, ever since he
washed up on Puerto Rico’s shore.
No one understands the migrants’
burden better than Frederick.
Twice a month, Frederick and
Father Pierre-Louis fill the parish
van with food, clothing and
other necessities. They drive it to
the coast, take a 24-hour ferry to
the Dominican Republic, drive it
to Haiti and then deliver the goods.
They do this in hope that Haitians
won’t be forced to migrate and put
their lives in danger.
Father Olin Pierre-
Louis provides food,
clothing and shelter
to Haitian refugees
escaping violence
and gangs.
TRUSTING GOD’S LOVE
Meanwhile, the mother who
lost her child last December is preparing
to testify against the “coyotes”
who crammed more than 50
people in a rickety boat built for
10. Hundreds have drowned. Father
Pierre-Louis is helping her get
access to legal and counseling services.
The mother is going to relive her
ineffable heartbreak to bring justice
to those who
so callously take
advantage of the
desperate. Her
love for her child
lost at sea will
live on in her effort
to help others avoid her fate. It
is hard to imagine a braver or more
fitting memorial.
Father Pierre-Louis never ceases
to see God’s hand in this work.
When things get tight, the resources
run dry and hope gets dim,
he says that someone always calls
and help comes. God’s love always
prevails.
Catholic Extension is part of this
help. Our Holy Family Fund supports
this amazing ministry. It is
our honor to help. If we can’t drive
a van, at least we can help fill it.
God’s love is always and everywhere
present to us, especially
during the hard and desperate
parts of our lives. Father Pierre-
Louis’ ministry at San Mateo is
proof. And all this from a little parish
with a $200 Sunday collection.
Angels don’t play harps. They do
the hard and gritty work of collecting
essentials, packing and driving
vans, making room for the homeless,
caring for the disconsolate,
and standing up for justice.