It was a school cafeteria, but to South Florida’s Haitian immigrants it would soon become the place to celebrate their faith, fight for their rights, mourn those swallowed by the sea and unite as a community.

Philippe Jean discovered Corpus Christi in 1974 where Catholic Haitians first worshipped in Miami.  Later the small community of Corpus Christi joined the larger community of St. Mary.  A group of Haitians grew to 50 members gathered first at Corpus Christi in the late 1973 under the direction of Fr. Charles Jackson an African American who spoke some French.  With the assistance of a Haitian sister celebrated the Eucharist every Sunday afternoon.  This was the only service available specifically for Haitians in the Archdiocese until April of 1977.

In 1977, a 4:00 PM Mass was added at St. Mary’s Cathedral.  Fr. Marcel Peloquin was sent to the Archdiocese in 1979 and said Mass at Corpus Christi and St. Mary’s.  Fr. Thomas Wenski joined the Haitian Ministry in mid September 1979.   At that time, they began a 9:00 AM Mass in Cathedral Hall in addition to Corpus Christi and the 4:00 PM at St. Mary’s.  Fr. Wenski also took the initiative to offer Mass at 4:00 PM an outreach in the Belle Glade area.  On the first Sunday of the month, Fr. Wenski with Alice Maxi (Saint Jean), Boniface Laurent, Nicole Semexant (Ganthier) and others would drive to Belle Glade to offer Mass at 4:00 PM at St. Philip Benizi Church.  Attendance varied between 20 and 50 people.  In December 1979, lay minister Alice Maxi was hired.  At that time, Nicole Semexant began an English language class

In 1980, Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy founded and blessed the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center(old rectory in front of cathedral now razed) in order to establish more effective pastoral care for South Florida’s Haitian community.  At that time, they also began to celebrate Masses in Belle Glade, Immokalee, Pompano Beach and Ft. Lauderdale.  Principally responsible for establishment of these services and programs had been Fr. Wenski.  In addition to Fr. Wenski, an Archdiocesan priest, the Center counts the assistance of Fr. Marcel Peloquin, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate and a veteran of 27 years of experience in Haiti as a missionary, Fr. Gerard Darbouze (1980), a priest from the Diocese of les Cayes in Haiti, Fr. Albert Saindoux, a priest from the diocese of Jeremie in Haiti, Fr. Mike Hann, a Canadian-born missionary priest located in Palm Beach County, Sister Agnes of Assisi, a native Haitian nun, and catechist, Alice Maxi (Saint Jean).

In January of 1980, the Haitian community moved into their new center across from the Cathedral.  The timing was providential – in that month during a single week, more than 1000 Haitians arrived on Florida Shores.  Having an identifiable center spurned the growth of the Haitian Apostolate.  Apostolic groups were formed: joining the Legion of Mary founded by Fr. Hamel were JOC (Young Catholic Workers) and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Krome Avenue became a place to receive Haitians and in July of 1980 Fr. Wenski began to celebrate Mass every Thursday afternoon.  Haitians arrivals with TB were confined at the Holly Hospital in Lantana, so Fr. Wenski celebrated Mass there on Wednesdays.

In August of 1980, Fr. Gerard Darbouze joined the Haitian ministry.  In September 1980, Fr. Wenski began an outreach to the Delray area – picking up Haitians along the “rangeline” and bringing there to mass at Our Lady Queen of Peace on Wednesday evenings, accompanied by Alice Saint Jean, Boniface Laurent, Nicole Ganthier, Joanel Ceramy, David Sineue, Toussaint, and others.

In 1981, it was difficult at times to find adequate space at the Center and the Cathedral for the many activities and meetings held for and by the Haitians.  This year also brought about continued growth in the ministry.  The English school begun by Nicole Ganthier in mid 1979 for 12 students had expanded to 10 times that many – three nights a week some eight classrooms at St. Mary’s were used to teach Haitians English.  Also during 1981, a series of three days missions were preached to outreach Haitians outside the Miami area at Immokalee, Ruskin, Indiantown, and Winter Haven by Fr. Wenski accompanied by Boniface, Alice and others.  To serve both social and religious needs of the faithful, the late Emeritus Archbishop Edward McCarthy moved the mission from St. Mary to what was Notre Dame Academy for Girls.  The proposed possibility became a reality in August of 1981.

With absolutely no financial resources and the barest of essentials with which to work, Fr. Wenski issued a plea.  And help came, young, old and in between, men and women turned a Cafeteria into a Sanctuary.  Each morning as the sun rose, they were there:  Priest and Lay People, raking, hammering, scrubbing, sweeping, until the sun set, indicated Toussaint.  Parking areas and driveways were paved.

When Notre-Dame was still a girls’ school, Notre-Dame Academy, the Haitians would celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in the school’s cafeteria (now the present church); in fact, Fr. Wenski remembers doing that in 1979.   The school closed in June of 1981.   The faithful started saying Mass there in August of that year. Archbishop McCarthy came to celebrate an “official opening Mass” in November of that year.  That Mass was held outside – on what was the basketball courts.

A picnic also took place to commemorate this important milestone.  More than 100 people celebrated Mass that day, stated Boniface Laurent who has begun his ministry at St. Mary’s.  There was feasting at the picnic — and mourning.  Thirty-three Haitians had drowned off the Florida Coast.

The Pierre Toussaint was also being located in the heart of Miami’s Little Haiti, and recognized as one of the most institutions serving the Haitians, offering religious services daily and on Sundays in the Notre Dame d’Haiti Mission adjacent to the Center.  Religious instruction, an active St. Vincent de Paul Society, various youth, prayer and reflection groups call forth leadership and the involvement of the community.  The Notre Dame Center had outreaches in Pompano, Fort Lauderdale, Homestead and Opa Locka; religious service for Haitians detained at Krome Avenue Detention Center and the staff makes visitations at Jackson Memorial Hospital.  It provided support service to the Haitian Ministry to the Diocese of Palm Beach.  Daily and weekly radio broadcasts kept the Haitian community abreast of national events, the situation in Haiti, health and educational opportunities, immigration and employment information and public service announcement.  Sunday evangelization program and news digest was distributed on cassettes along the Eastcoast migrant stream and across the USA, the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and French Guiana   Fr. Wenski published a religious tabloid, Lavwa Katolik, the first Creole-language newspaper in the United States.  It was published periodically during the year and reached not only those Haitians living in the greater Miami area but also Haitians working in the rural agricultural areas of Southern and Central Florida.  The first initial run was about 15,000 copies.  On Sunday June 7, the Haitian community saw the birth of the first Catholic Religious program in Creole over Miami’s airwaves.  Express Publicite run by Carmelot Monestime began broadcasting a short three-minute segment of catechetical instruction taped by a member of the Notre Dame pastoral team.  Short “mini-missions” played an important role in the Notre Dame Haitian Catholic Center’s