Foundation to help poor in Haiti

IN HIS BROTHER’S NAME  Holy Cross Father Jonas St. Martin, from Canada, helped to establish a foun­dation to assist women and chil­dren in Haiti in honor of his late brother, Father Jean-Claude St. Martin (depicted on poster) who was former parochial vicar of St. Cecilia and Sacred Heart parishes, Rockaway. Father Jonas is shown at St. Cecilia’s where he spoke at Masses from Nov. 26 to 27 to promote the new charity.

RANDOLPH  A non-profit foundation has been established that clearly reflects and acts on the big-hearted compassion of its namesake, the late Father Jean-Claude St. Martin. A “gentle giant” of a diocesan priest, he had great concern for the desperately poor of his native Haiti, where he died at 38 years old on a visit home in 2011.

People of goodwill from around the Diocese and beyond are being invited to contribute financially to the new Father Jean Claude Foundation, which will operate as a ministry under the 501c3 charity Haiti Hope and Promise, formed by parishioners of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish here. Father Jean-Claude’s brother, Holy Cross Father Jonas St. Martin at the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montréal, Canada, had proposed the idea of the foundation to help children and uneducated women in Haiti. It has the following two principal missions:

• To come to the aid of poor and vulnerable children in St. Jean-Claude’s hometown of Plaine Du Nord in northern Haiti by paying school fees and providing school supplies and the proper clothing so that they can go to school to realize their full potential and make their contribution to society.

• To encourage and offer financial support to women in rural areas and to older adults, who find themselves in precarious situations, to improve their quality of life, to break through their isolation and to promote social, economic and personal autonomy. It plans to offer early education workshops in music, do-it-yourself repairs, sports, sewing and crafts, computer use, and literacy, was well as vocational training, discussion groups, mentoring and food and clothing banks.

“Many of you have called him [Father Jean-Claude] a ‘giant.’ I come today to talk about someone you have known, loved and who in turn, loved this Christian community and loved you all without exception,” said Father Jonas. He called his brother’s death “a difficult time for you, as well as for us, his family members,” as part of his talks at Masses Nov. 26-27 to promote the foundation at St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway. “We would like to cherish his memory. When you make a donation to Father Jean-Claude St. Martin Foundation, you are contributing to people in Haiti, who desire to succeed in life. We are convinced that we can meet the growing needs of the poor and afflicted people,” he said.

Recently, Father Jonas approached a few local Catholics, who knew the late priest and/or had missioned in Haiti, about starting an organization in his name to give the poor of the impoverished island nation some much-needed hope. Standing at about six-feet, four-inches tall, Father Jean Claude was serving as parochial vicar of St. Cecilia’s and Sacred Heart Parish, also in Rockaway, at the time of his death. He died on Feb. 11, 2011, while visiting family at his mother’s home in Haiti — sad news that shocked everyone who knew him or served with him in the Diocese.

“Father Jean-Claude’s warm smile and gentle spirit touched many people in the community,” said Albert J. Capuzzi of St. Virgil Parish, Morris Plains, who helped establish the foundation and knew Father Jean-Claude whom Bishop Serratelli ordained to the priesthood in 2008. “We [several local Catholics] discussed Father Jonas’ desire to create a foundation in his brother’s memory and to fulfill one of his dreams of helping those in need in his native Haiti.”

The late priest’s big heart has remained with Capuzzi, who worked on various Haiti outreach programs over the past decade. The Capuzzi family was close to Father Jean Claude, who had presided over a memorial Mass with concelebrating priests on Jan. 28, 2011 — shortly before his death — to mark the first anniversary of the massive earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, on Jan. 12, 2010.

Originally, Father Jean-Claude arrived from Haiti to the Diocese though a friendly long-distance association with Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) Parish Sparta. In 1999, he met Msgr. Paul Knauer — then OLL’s pastor, who is now retired — and a small group of parishioners, who had embarked on a mission trip to the poor nation. Fluent in his homeland’s native languages, French and Creole, he served as their translator.

Later, the future Father Jean-Claude helped OLL coordinate its supply shipments to Haiti. In 2000, Msgr. Knauer invited him to OLL, where he returned to in 2004 to serve the people by visiting local hospitals with Msgr. Knauer, among other outreaches. In 2006, he came to the Diocese, after having completed his priestly studies.

People interested in helping the St. Jean-Claude St. Martin Foundation can sponsor or co-sponsor a child. The cost to sponsor one child per year is $365, which pays for tuition, books and school uniform. They types of financial gifts include: a single gift, a gift in honor of a special person, an in-memoriam gift in honor of the memory of a dearly departed person or a monthly or annual gift, according to the foundation’s promotion materials.

“Your contribution, of whatever amount, is important because, combined with the gifts of other donors, it makes a real difference in the lives of these persons. A gift of but one dollar a day can make a great difference,” the promotional materials state.

People also can contribute by volunteering — lending their time and expertise to the advancement of the mission of the foundation, according to the promotional materials.

“Father Jean-Claude was a chartable man, who always made himself available for those in need, both spirituality and materially. He also was concerned about the plight of his people in his homeland,” said Father Zig Peplowski, pastor of both Rockaway parishes, who noted that the two faith communities plan to get involved contributing to the foundation after Christmas. “Father Jean-Claude was highly esteemed at St. Cecilia and Sacred Heart, so anything to promote his memory would be a good thing.”

[Information: Father Jonas St. Martin at (514) 965-2072 or Pat Daly at (973) 214-7405.]