On July 15, at a special mass, the Haitian Catholic Community of Philadelphia waved goodbye to Rev. Père Alfred Lauricien, OMI and welcomed Rev. Père Eugene R. Almonor, OMI. The mass went well with a choir that sang extraordinarily well under the direction of Maestro Ralph Damas.
The Pastor of St. William, Rev. Alfonso J. Concha, was in attendance as well as Mr. Matthew Davis, Director of the Office for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees. The church was also packed as expected on that day. Our community’s social group did a marvelous job decorating the church as well as the auditorium where a small reception followed the mass of installation of Père Eugène.
Lots of days and hours were spent on this event to make it a success. We are proud of our social group and our choirs, for giving their times to handle this event in less than 30 days, especially that they carried out this project after long days at work and weekends. Thank you, team.
Behind the scene though, the community was sad and apprehensive. A feeling of apprehension is normal as of the unknown as we had no idea what to expect from the new chaplain, Père Eugene.
Letting go of our beloved priest, Père Alfred, was not easy. In previous weekends, the children of the church shared their thoughts about Père Alfred. Children speak the truth and they did not hold back showing their love for a man whom we, adults, knew had to go, to move on to better and great things elsewhere.
I am certain that there existed apprehension as well when Père Alfred arrived in Philadelphia in 2013 as the new chaplain of the Haitian Catholic Community of Philadelphia. His predecessor, Père Gardy, had been the chaplain of the community for 8 years.
Most people are uncomfortable with changes because of the unknown factor, the impenetrable dark space they face and the lack of strength to begin a relationship with another priest. As missionaries, priests of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate know that they will be moved from place to place throughout their journey on this earth. It is hard, though, for those who grew accustomed to their ways. Separation was tough and we could not let him see too much of our sorrows.
Père Alfred became in 2013 the chaplain of a divided community–North and West–as if they were not from the same country. By the end of his term, with the help of the Holy Spirit, his leadership abilities shined. The Haitian Catholic Community became accustomed to working together, as one unit, finally with a lesser notion of north and west.
He merged the leadership of the two groups into one advisory council, one pastoral council and one finance committee. Choirs of both locations join their voices as well for special masses; take my word when I say they sing beautifully together. Please take a moment to review the directory of the Haitian Catholic Community of Philadelphia to truly understand Père Alfred’s desire to take this community to the next level.
No CEO has ever been appreciated by all but we know that Père Alfred was much loved by the majority. He is a young priest with a great future. We will miss him tremendously but, as he asked often of us, please welcome the new chaplain and work with him.
We will always hold Père Alfred in a special section of our hearts and we wish him great success as a priest in carrying out God’s mission. Welcome Rev. Père Eugene R. Almonor, OMI, as the new Chaplain of the Haitian Catholic Community of Philadelphia!
Beatrice, Chair – Communications and Website Committee
