AMERICA/HAITI - Clerics of St. Viator: 3 missing members in Grand Goave found alive, although wounded

Port-au-Prince (Agenzia Fides) – The Attorney General of the Clerics of Saint Viator, contacted by Agenzia Fides, reported that, according to information received from their community in Haiti, the Villa Manrese (home of the community in Port au Prince) has been destroyed and the receptionist caught under the rubble. The brothers of Cazeau (site of the postulancy and noviciate) are unhurt, as are those of Gonaives. Their houses seem less damaged by the earthquake. Just as the superior of the community spoke with the editorial staff of Fides, news came in that the 3 Clerics (Jean Michelin, Alex Monfiston postulant and Christophe) who were in Grand Goave, were found alive, although injured and with fractures. The Superior General of the Clerics of Saint Viator, Fr. Mark Francis, invited every member of the Congregation to participate in the global humanitarian effort to help the Haitian people, urging them to pray for the deceased and the survivors of this terrible tragedy. The Clerics of Saint Viator first arrived in Haiti in 1965 to replace the Jesuits, who had been expelled by President Duvalier in 1964, as directors and professors of the Major Seminary of Theology. The community of the Clerics of Saint Viator in Haiti is under the Province of Canada. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 18/01/2010)