MIAMI 鈥� Packed pews, rollicking singing and emotional devotions have marked Lent worship services at Notre Dame d'Haiti, the Catholic church at the heart of the largest Haitian diaspora in the United States. For a community caught in the crossfire of and , clinging to faith in God is one of the few lifelines left.
鈥淲e believe in him. We pray for possibilities,鈥� said Kettelene Fevrier. She fled Haiti two years ago under a temporary humanitarian program created by the Biden administration and canceled by Trump's, effective later in April.
At the weekend Mass closing a Lent revival program, Fevrier sang with the choir that kept more than a thousand congregants dancing in the aisles well past midnight. Singing is praying, she said, and she has two main intentions.
鈥淔irst, that I stay here,鈥� she said. 鈥淪econd, that God will lead me on the right path.鈥�
Among those swaying to the Creole hymns was Sandina Jean, an asylum-seeker who fled Haiti in 2023. In her increasingly gang-controlled homeland, such a celebration would be hard to safely hold, she said.
鈥淗aiti is getting worse. We don鈥檛 have a home to go back to,鈥� Jean said. 鈥淲hen you pray, when you come to Mass, it helps you to keep moving.鈥�
The spiritual home of the Haitian diaspora
Notre Dame d'Haiti was founded nearly 50 years ago as a mission of the Catholic Church in Little Haiti, a neighborhood near downtown Miami that grew as people fled waves of turmoil. About half a million Haitians live in Florida, making greater Miami by far their largest home away from home.
鈥淣otre Dame d'Haiti is the point of rallying of this community,鈥� said the Rev. Reginald Jean-Mary, who has led the parish since 2004. 鈥淲e accompany Haitian migrants to integrate in U.S. life.鈥�
Today, their greatest need is a sense of peace.
鈥淧eople are very desperate, broken, hopeless and at the same time, they continue to believe," Jean-Mary said.
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The gangs that control the vast majority of Haiti鈥檚 capital, Port-au-Prince, have that have killed thousands of people across the country and left more than one million homeless. Sixty thousand were displaced in a single month 鈥� a record 鈥� according to a late March United Nations report.
So growing numbers of Haitians have fled to the United States. More than 200,000 came under a 鈥渉umanitarian parole鈥� program created in late 2022 that the Department of Homeland Security said it would revoke in late April.
Earlier this year, the U.S. government also announced that in August for about half a million Haitians. Their status had been renewed by the Biden administration, which had widely .
Some Notre Dame congregants felt that these new arrivals strained available resources 鈥� and voted for President Donald Trump, whose among many in Miami鈥檚 long-established Latino communities, too.
But most congregants are still stepping up to help their compatriots who often sold what little they had in Haiti to take advantage of legal protections in the United States, Jean Souffrant said. He leads the Pierre Toussaint Leadership and Learning Center, Notre Dame鈥檚 social services hub, which offers free day care, job training, and language and tech classes.
Last week, one immigration on church grounds 鈥� lasted until 1 a.m. because so many people lined up, desperate for advice, Souffrant said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 never been this bad鈥� for Haitians in the U.S. and on the island, he said. 鈥淲hat a heavy burden, being told you鈥檙e no longer allowed in a country that welcomed you.鈥�
Octavius Aime said the new arrivals鈥� difficulties affect the entire community, which he鈥檚 seen grow over 40 years at Notre Dame. Many are terrified to lose their work permits, which came with humanitarian protections, since their U.S. salaries are lifelines for families in Haiti.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hurting,鈥� Aime said. "We are so worried, we don鈥檛 know what to do.鈥�
Lifting the Haitian diaspora in prayer
The uncertainty makes it especially important to gather and uplift all Haitians at events like the revival, at which Aime volunteered. It centered on the biblical story of the Jewish people鈥檚 miraculous escape from slavery in Egypt after Moses parted the Red Sea.
The event鈥檚 motto was that nobody can close a door opened by God 鈥� or 鈥淏ondye鈥� in Creole, which is derived from the French for 鈥済ood God.鈥�
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鈥淲e all need it at this moment,鈥� Savio Magloire said of the biblical message as he and his fiancee watched Mass projected on a screen outside the packed church. A few folding chairs were set up under the palms.
In normal times, the grounds would be full with the overflow crowd, but now many are to be seen in public, said Sandra Monestime, who was sitting near Magloire.
She鈥檚 been coming to Notre Dame for more than 40 years, since she was a teen, and trusts that the intergenerational congregation with more than three dozen ministry groups will survive this latest period of turmoil because it鈥檚 鈥渓ike family.鈥�
Dressed in bright white with soft pink flourishes, a youth group called 鈥渕imers鈥� 鈥� a Haitian tradition, they mime some of the liturgy through dance 鈥� led the Mass entrance processional. The children are both U.S.-born and new arrivals, coordinator Asencia Selmon said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the church brings,鈥� Selmon said, of youth participation. 鈥淲e help them to be involved in church, not only spiritually but socially. When the priests preach, they show people not to despair.鈥�
That鈥檚 the message that Helene Auguste, a parishioner for the past 40 years, tries to convey to her brother, a teacher in Haiti. Every time the phone rings, she fears it鈥檚 with news he was killed in the escalating violence.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no life for the people of Haiti,鈥� Auguste said, adding only the power of prayer remains. 鈥淣ow you can鈥檛 talk to any people, you speak to God.鈥�
A faith that energizes, amid crushing crises
And speak 鈥� and sing, and dance 鈥� to God is just what the congregants of Notre Dame do.
At the closing revival event, the faithful had lined up before 5 p.m. to enter the church 鈥� to get splashed, one by one, with holy water by a visiting Haitian priest. followed, then a more than four-hour-long Mass and a reenactment of the ancient Israelites crossing the Red Sea to the promised land.
That's when music surged, and the faithful jumped to their feet, singing, as the celebrating priests pumped fists, clapped and swung to the rhythm.
Even the ushers, demurely dressed in white shirts, started rocking to the beat.
鈥淚f you want a stronger faith, an energizer, you come here,鈥� Suzie Aristide, an usher, said. 鈥淭hen you get out and you鈥檙e ready 鈥� your soul, your body, your mind. That鈥檚 what we are: our faith.鈥�
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The story has been updated to correct the spelling of Jean Souffrant鈥檚 last name.
