Haiti: 140 children receive First Communion thanks to the Kizito Family

In the midst of the complicated reality of Haiti, affected by the violence of criminal gangs, economic collapse and a serious political crisis, 140 children received their first communion on Saturday, August 24, thanks to the missionary work of Sister. Paësie and her spiritual daughters.

Furthermore, in the previous weeks several groups of children also received baptism and Jesus Sacramentado for the first time, as explained by the founder of the Kizito Family, a pious association of faithful that integrates nuns, consecrated women, priests and lay people dedicated to serving the poor. of the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, Haitian capital.

In an interview with EWTN News, Sr. Paësie explained that the little ones “are part of the Kizito Family catechesis centers in Cité Soleil or Ciudad del Sol”, one of the poorest and most densely populated communes in the entire country.

“Part of them were in preparation from 2019 to 2020, since the catechisms are quite long, this is because in many cases their parents are not practitioners, so we want the children themselves to make the conscious decision to receive these sacraments,” added the nun.

The catechesis centers are a response from Sister. Paësie to the spiritual need of young people, which he witnessed for 25 years, who were unable to access the sacraments if they were not in school, since in Haiti there are few Catholic structures that offer these benefits.

“So far in 2024 we have celebrated more than 250 first communions and 300 baptisms. In the last 7 months we have had at least 5 groups of baptisms, adding a total of more than 150 in different areas of the City of the Sun, since we have several chapels,” shared Sister. Paësie.

Around 40 catechists collaborate with the evangelizing mission of the Kizito Family in Haiti, most of them young people who were trained in the catechetical centers. The nun comments that the volunteers received Baptism, Communion and Confirmation thanks to the pious association of faithful.

After receiving the sacraments, they began “additional training” to become catechists, said Sister. Paësie. “Given that we have six catechism centers and approximately 1,500 children in total, we need a large number of catechists to be able to properly educate all the children. “This is how we operate,” she noted.

The Sister Paësie highlighted that training in catechetical centers, for parents and children, varies depending on the sacrament. Originally the preparation for Baptism lasted a year, but it has been reduced to 3 or 4 months, due to the violence in Cité Soleilwhich has caused the death of many of these children. After Baptism, preparation for First Communion takes 2 years, and Confirmation takes 2 more years.

Despite the difficulties, the nun highlights that many of the children who receive the sacraments later continue to participate in Church activities.

“We need both spiritual and material help for our work of evangelization. We work with very poor children, who face serious problems such as lack of food and the inability to pay for school,” said Sister. Paësie.

“This week, before their first communion, several mothers asked us for help buying clothes and shoes for their children. In some cases, we had to provide the clothing ourselves. In addition, two mothers were attacked by thieves when they were trying to buy dresses for their first communion,” she lamented.

For the nun, this “reflects the serious situation of poverty and violence” that Haitians face, which is why she highlighted the need for Heavy Family to receive help to be able to move forward.