The Cathedral Is Still in Ruins. Next Door, a 1,500-Seat Stand-In and 60 Building Projects

• Port-au-Prince’s Catholic cathedral was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake
• A 1,500-seat transitional cathedral was dedicated beside the ruins in November 2014
• Rebuilding the cathedral itself was estimated at US$30–40 million
• Archbishop Guire Poulard said about 60 projects were under way

Five years after the earthquake, the ruins of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption still stood in Port-au-Prince. But beside them, the Catholic archdiocese had put up a practical answer: a 1,500-seat transitional cathedral, dedicated in November 2014. The National Catholic Reporter described the scene in March 2015.

Archbishop Guire Poulard, who took over the archdiocese after his predecessor, Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, died in the 2010 quake, said the church had moved from emergency to construction. “Now we have about 60 active projects,” he said. The report noted that about 30 new parishes were being formed and that rebuilding the cathedral itself was estimated at US$30 million to US$40 million.

The work was being supported by the Partnership for the Reconstruction of the Church in Haiti, known as PROCHE, along with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Relief Services and the German bishops’ agency Adveniat. Miami’s Archbishop Thomas Wenski was among the figures involved.

The transitional cathedral is a telling choice. Rather than wait years for a monument, the archdiocese built something simpler and usable right beside the ruins so worship could continue, while fundraising for the permanent building went on in parallel. It also spread effort across dozens of smaller projects in parishes rather than pouring everything into one grand structure.

Jamaican churches recovering from Hurricane Melissa face a similar choice between restoring a historic building in full and getting a congregation back under a sound roof quickly. Haiti’s experience suggests there is no shame in a temporary structure if the land is secure and the long-term plan is clear. It also points to the value of having property records, insurance and building plans in order before a disaster, so that partners abroad can move money into rebuilding without delay.

Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com