The story of Holy Trinity Cathedral begins in 1861, when the Rev. James Theodore Holly comes to Haiti from the United States, bringing the presence and ministry of the Episcopal Church to this island country.
Bishop Alfred Lee of Delaware, a staunch advocate of Fr. Holly and the ministry of the Church in Haiti, said at the time, “It will not be worthwhile to prosecute the Mission [in Haiti] without suitable buildings. A convenient and appropriate church is a sine qua non, and accommodation for schools and a residence, for one missionary, at least, is of the first importance.”
So on May 24, 1863, Fr. Holly establishes Holy Trinity Parish in Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital city. In 1874, Fr. Holly is consecrated the first missionary bishop to Haiti and the first African-American bishop in the entire Episcopal Church; and as a result, Holy Trinity becomes Bishop Holly’s cathedral. Keep in mind that during this period of time, the vast majority of buildings in Port-au-Prince and all of Haiti are built of wood and thatch. Consequently, on a number of occasions throughout Bishop Holly’s ministry, Port-au-Prince suffers a series of devastating fires—1866, 1873, 1888 and 1908. And in each of these instances, Holy Trinity is destroyed.
But if one thing can be said, it’s that surely resilience is a defining character trait of the Haitian people. That’s because each time the Cathedral is destroyed, the people rebuild it once again.
Bishop Holly will go on to serve the Haitian people until his death in 1911.
In 1923, the Rev. Harry R. Carson becomes the second Episcopal Bishop of Haiti. In the years between Bishop Holly’s death and the consecration of Bishop Carson, Haiti goes through a series of political upheavals that trample the lives of the people and impede the mission of the Church. As the political situation stabilizes and Bishop Carson is brought in to assume responsibility, he rightfully re-establishes Port-au-Prince as the center from which all of the Episcopal Church’s mission work will flow. Bishop Carson recalls the words of Bishop Lee, from a half-century earlier that a suitable building is essential for carrying out the mission of the Church, and he calls for a new substantial Cathedral to be built. In 1924, the Haitian architects Daniel and Philippe Brun design the new Holy Trinity Cathedral and on January 6, 1929, the Cathedral is dedicated.
In 1949, Haiti celebrates the bicentennial of Port-au-Prince and uses the event to promote the vitality of Haitian art. The Episcopal Church invites Haitian artists to paint murals on the interior walls of Holy Trinity Cathedral under the guidance of the renowned Centre d’Art. On March 9, 1950, the murals behind the altar are competed and dedicated. The remaining murals are completed by April 1951. Recognized throughout the world for their artistic and cultural merit, these murals depict various stories from the Bible using people of African heritage as the characters. The murals are painted by some of the best-known Haitian artists of the Twentieth Century. The ensuing years sees additional artwork brought into the Cathedral including the beautiful murals decorating the doors of the organ case with animals, birds, flowers and plants representing a hymn of creation honoring God the Creator.
In 1961, the Episcopal Church celebrates one hundred years of service in Haiti. For this occasion, major renovations take place at the Cathedral. Through generous gifts from many friends throughout the United States and in Haiti, a new organ is installed. The sanctuary of the Cathedral is redesigned to allow the priest to face the congregation while celebrating at the altar. At the same time, administrative buildings are constructed behind the Cathedral, which provide choir rehearsal space, meeting rooms and offices for the Diocese of Haiti.
Then on January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake strikes Haiti, killing more than 300,000 people, seriously injuring more than 250,000, and leaving 1.3 million people homeless. Untold numbers of private and public buildings are destroyed throughout the country including Holy Trinity Cathedral, as well as other buildings on the Cathedral close, including the primary, secondary, professional, and music schools, and Ste. Marguerite Convent.
Of the fourteen renowned murals that adorned the interior of the Cathedral, only three survive the destruction. A collaborative effort, under the auspices of the Smithsonian, the Getty Conservation Institute, and others, salvaged and conserved the three murals—removing them from the walls, placing them in protective crates and taking them offsite to controlled storage as they await reinstallation in the new Cathedral.
Facing the enormity of, not only caring for its people, but also rebuilding most all of its churches, schools, hospitals and other structures throughout the country, the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti decides to concentrate its initial rebuilding efforts on Holy Trinity Cathedral—recalling once again the words of Bishop Lee, from a century and a half ago, that “a suitable building is essential for carrying out the mission of the Church.”
The Diocese of Haiti looks to a new Cathedral to be that prominent landmark proclaiming God’s abiding presence among the Haitian people. It will represent the Church’s ongoing commitment to serve the peoples’ needs—a beacon of hope to all who suffer and a place of refuge in times of trouble.
The Episcopal Church, of which the Diocese of Haiti is its largest diocese, is committed to the rebuilding effort. Over the last two years, a team has been working diligently with the Diocese of Haiti helping the Church get back up on its feet. This past August, I began working with the Team to help develop and implement a strategy to rebuild the Cathedral.
Our first major task was to compile and verify the necessary information in order to hire an architect and design the building. Locating the deeds for the land, searching for surveys of the property boundaries, developing a program for how the new Cathedral should function, establishing a budget for design and construction—all these things and more were pulled together and agreed upon by all the folks involved, not only in Haiti, but in this country as well. And for those of you who know how efficiently the Church operates, you can appreciate the time required to assemble this information.
In December, our Team issued a “Request for Proposal” to procure an architect. On January 6th, we received those proposals and now, we are in the process of reviewing them and expect to make a decision in the near future. This decision then will allow the design process to move forward and create a vision for the new Cathedral which can be shared with the entire Church. Our hope is that the new design will be so exciting and so inspiring that it will raise great enthusiasm and encourage additional financial support for the rebuilding effort.
The amount of destruction in Haiti is so overwhelming, the need is so great and the recovery will take such a long period of time. The Episcopal Church in Haiti needs our ongoing help. You and I can continue to make a difference, a very real difference in the lives of these people, our sisters and brothers in Christ. Our help is critical as the people of Haiti work to get back on their feet again.