SCRANTON – Father Rick Frechette, C.P., D.O., was in West Scranton in late July to preach during the 102nd annual Solemn Novena to Saint Ann. While his visit gave him a chance to reconnect with fellow priests and longtime friends, it was only a brief break from the work that has consumed his priesthood for nearly four decades.
As founder of the Saint Luke Foundation for Haiti, Father Rick has spent much of his life serving some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, providing medical care, building schools and providing much needed humanitarian outreach.
“Over these 37 years that I’ve been there, we’ve built two hospitals, 35 schools and seven clinics,” he said.
While those numbers are impressive and significant, Father Rick’s own ministry remains intentionally close to the people he serves.
“I don’t work in our institutions. I don’t want to take employment away from a Haitian physician,” he explained. “I work front-line work, medical work off the back of a truck in poor areas.”
That firsthand ministry has given Father Rick a unique perspective on the worsening humanitarian crisis gripping Haiti – a crisis he says has placed millions of innocent people in the hands of armed gangs.
“I think primarily for Passionists, our number one concern is the crucified people of today. The people of Haiti, because of their history, certainly qualify as crucified today,” Father Rick said. “When I had the chance to be able to work with them and for them, I embraced it.”
Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Father Rick says international terrorist gangs have expanded their control across Haiti, particularly in and around the capital of Port-au-Prince.
The international airport in the capital has also been closed to American carriers for nearly two years, he said, forcing missionaries and other traveling in and out of Haiti to find alternate routes through the northern part of the country.
But the disruption of travel is only a small part of the crisis.
“More importantly, huge areas of the city have been devastated by attacks and fires,” Father Rick said.
Among the places destroyed by gang violence was the original home for the dying established by Mother Teresa. More recently, a chapel associated with that ministry was also destroyed.
The impact on Haiti’s health care system has been devastating. Father Rick said approximately 70 percent of hospitals are now closed, while many missionaries have been forced to leave the country.
More than 1 million people have also been internally displaced.
“There has been no major success in trying to curtail the activity of the grants,” he said.
For Father Rick, the tragedy is particularly painful because of the people caught in the middle. Yet, he is quick to point out that the story of Haiti cannot be reduced to poverty, violence and despair.
One of the things that has struck him throughout his years of ministry is what happens when Haitians are given an opportunity to flourish outside the conditions that have constrained them at home.
“Almost any Haitian that can get themselves out of Haiti, thrives where they go,” he said, pointing to Haitians succeeding in medicine, culture, music and even politics in places such as Canada.
“Haiti stifles life for the Haitian person, so that is what our circumstances are,” he continued.
After recognizing the immense need in Haiti, Father Rick founded the Saint Luke Foundation which provides health care, education and humanitarian assistance to some of Haiti’s least-served populations.
Today, the Saint Luke Foundation operates independently while collaborating with international partners to strengthen its efforts in agriculture, community development, and disaster relief.
Even as the security crisis has intensified, the work has continued.
This summer, for example, the foundation launched a series of camps for children living in displacement sites around Port-au-Prince. The initiative began June 8 when approximately 150 children and vulnerable community members participated in a three-week camp.
The children received nutritious meals, refreshments, participated in recreational activities, prayer and received support from a dedicated team.
For Father Rick, these efforts are about more than simply meeting immediate needs. They are about restoring dignity and hope to people who have endured extraordinary suffering.
That same message was at the heart of what he shared with the faithful during the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann July 17-26, as he urged people to resist the forces that divide and dehumanize them and instead embrace the authentic life that Christ offers.