In 1996, the sisters of the US Province met to think and pray about how best to live their communal mission in the world of that time, just as Claudine had done in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Again, the RJM made a bold choice and decided to take their communal mission to one of the poorest places in the world, Haiti, a nation beset by social and political chaos.
Now, for over 30 years, the RJM sisters and many volunteers and partners have been building communities of mission in several parts of Haiti. Starting in 1997 with just three sisters responding to the invitation to go, the province has enabled the people of Haiti in Gros Morne, Jean-Rabel, and Port-au-Prince to create and sustain early childhood programs, schools, health care services, adult and family training, as well as to support environmentally sustainable agriculture and to help women and others in need find sustainable and dignified work.
Read about the RJM ministries in Haiti as they have been reported on by the press..
What the Religious of Jesus and Mary have done with the Haitian people has only been possible because friends, like you, have responded to God’s merciful love in their own ways and have joined Claudine’s community in mission. Whether as volunteers and partners on the ground in Haiti, as donors of any amount, or even just as people who have taken the time to look at our newsletters and offer a simple prayer, many people have been part of our RJM community in mission.
The sisters of what we now call the USA-Haiti Province are incredibly proud of the ways that we have expanded upon St. Claudine Thévenet’s vision to make Jesus and Mary known in Haiti for the last 30+ years!
Our faith impels us to look forward, and we want to sustain our communal mission in Haiti for years to come.
We hope that the political and safety situation in Haiti will allow us to invite and enable volunteers to go back to Haiti soon.
Even without the ability to send volunteers over the last few years, the RJM and the people of Haiti themselves have kept the communal mission going despite the global COVID-19 pandemic and the total collapse of the Haitian government.
As the RJM look forward, we are very intentionally trying to invite and enable our friends to a deeper level of partnership in our community in mission, just as Claudine did so long ago in France.
We hope to be able to invite you to join us as a volunteer soon, but in the meantime, we are inviting you to pray with us for the RJM sisters and companions in ministry as well as for the people of Haiti. We are also inviting you to make a financial donation of any size, if you are able.
Look for messages from us coming through the mail, email, and social media in the weeks and months to come about the RJM mission and ministries. In the meantime, we ask you to explore our website www.rjmusa.org to learn more about what the RJM USA-Haiti Province has done and is doing in all of the places where our community in mission serves.
Also, please reach out to us at www.rjmusa.org/contact to provide us with any information that will help us keep you as a vital part of our community … updates to your address, prayer requests, or any ideas or questions that you have. We also invite you to support the RJM mission and ministries through prayer; we know that what we accomplish is only possible because of God’s merciful goodness!
Finally, if you are able, our website allows you to give today or set up recurring donations by credit card, debit card, check, or even with Apple Pay by going to www.rjmusa.org/donate, or you can always send a check to the address on our donation page.
We are deeply grateful for experiencing the merciful love of God through your partnership and support! As a community, we continue to carry out St. Claudine Thévenet’s mission to make Jesus and Mary known, even in challenging places like Haiti. We pray to God that, along with volunteers, partners, and supporters like you, we will continue the RJM mission and ministries for many years to come!
Lwanj pou Jezi ak Mari pou tout tan gen tan!
Haitian Creole: “Praised Forever be Jesus and Mary!”
