**HAITI. — I. GEOGRAPHY.** — A mountainous, exceedingly fertile island situated between Cuba and Puerto Rico; it has an area of 76,420 sq. km. and is the second largest of the Greater Antilles.
Composed mainly of very ancient rocks (crystalline schists, gneiss, basalts, andesites), it is covered by compact and Mesozoic clayey limestones. The region, traversed in its center by a great mountain range, presents morphologically mature forms. Climatic conditions vary greatly because of the diversity and complexity of the relief. Owing to the abundant rainfall, Haiti is rich in perennial watercourses, though short in length, given the structure and extent of the region. During the French domination, which began in the mid-17th century, the Negroes imported from Africa were superimposed upon the indigenous population and white immigrants.
Politically, the island is divided into the two republics of Santo Domingo and Haiti. The latter comprises the western part of the island of the same name, with an area of 27,884 sq. km. and a population of about 2,500,000 inhabitants. About five hundred Italians, out of a total of four thousand whites, live in the capital, Port-au-Prince, the largest city on the island. Agriculture is the principal occupation; the cultivation of coffee, introduced in 1738 by the Jesuits, is highly developed. Other important economic resources are sugar cane, cotton, and cocoa. Trade is conducted mainly with the United States, in whose sphere of influence the Republic lies.
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**II. EVANGELIZATION.** — Under Spanish rule, the peaceful and indolent Indians, among whom the missionaries had labored (v. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC), were exterminated and replaced by Negro slaves imported from Africa. In the 17th century, the western part of the island became French (from 1659, juridically from the Peace of Ryswick in 1697).
Jesuits, Dominicans, and Capuchins undertook the mission among the slaves, who were won over to the Church, though they remained entangled in fetishism, witchcraft, and superstitions. After the expulsion of the Jesuits in the 18th century and of the Dominicans and Capuchins during the struggle for independence, the Republic of Haiti (from 1804) introduced a state church system, which remained in force until 1860. In 1860, a concordat was concluded, and in 1861 the ecclesiastical hierarchy was established with the archdiocese of Port-au-Prince and the suffragan sees of Les Cayes, Cap-Haïtien, Les Gonaïves, and Port-de-Paix. Only Port-au-Prince had its own archbishop; the other dioceses were filled only in the years 1873, 1893, and finally in 1928. It was chiefly Archbishop Alexis-Jean Guilloux (1819 [1870]-85) who labored to improve the ministry of souls and the schools. Since there were no native vocations to the priesthood, a special seminary for Haiti was established in Brittany, from which more than 520 priests emerged over the course of 70 years. Since 1922, there has also been a seminary in Haiti. However, despite the efforts of the Montfortans in Port-de-Paix (since 1871) and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Les Cayes (since 1942), the shortage of priests remains acute.
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**III. ECCLESIASTICAL DIVISIONS.** — Haiti has one metropolitan see: Port-au-Prince (3 Oct. 1861), with four suffragan sees: Les Cayes (3 Oct. 1861), Cap-Haïtien (3 Oct. 1861), Les Gonaïves (3 Oct. 1861), Port-de-Paix (3 Oct. 1861).
For a map of the ecclesiastical divisions, V. ANTILLE.
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**IV. LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHURCH.** — The relations between Church and State are regulated by the following agreements: 1) A concordat ratified on 10 May 1860, with two attached counter-notes; 2) Additional conventions of 6 Feb. 1861 and 17 June 1862; 3) A convention “on the property of the Catholic Church in Haiti and on the organization and administration of parish fabriques,” ratified in Port-au-Prince on 25 Jan. 1940.
The concordat, concluded about 90 years ago, grants the state authority, represented by the President of the Republic, many privileges, some of which are now quite unusual: the privilege of appointing bishops, who may exercise jurisdiction only after receiving canonical institution; the Holy See may, at its discretion, defer or even withhold this institution; in such a case, it must inform the President of the Republic, who will proceed to appoint another candidate (art. 4); an oath of fidelity by bishops, vicars general, curates, parochial vicars, and all other members of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and heads of religious schools and institutes (art. 5); an obligation for bishops to consult with the President or his delegates regarding changes in parish boundaries (art. 11) and the erection of religious orders and institutions (art. 12).
The two attached counter-notes further clarify the meaning and scope of certain articles of the concordat and stipulate that if the President of the Republic should not profess the Catholic faith, the concordat shall be modified with regard to the rights granted therein to a Catholic president, which could not be exercised by one of a different faith.
Neither the concordat nor the other agreements expressly regulate certain matters of vital importance to the Church, such as marriage and education; there is only the general provision of art. 17 of the concordat, according to which “all matters concerning ecclesiastical subjects not mentioned in this concordat shall be regulated according to the existing discipline of the Church approved by the Holy See.”
Nevertheless, it does not appear that this provision has been observed with regard to the legal regulation of marriage. Indeed, Haitian legislation, modeled on French law, recognizes civil marriage and permits divorce; a law ratified by the government on 6 May 1940 further facilitated divorce procedures. However, a law of 16 Dec. 1929, supplemented by a presidential decree of 10 Jan. 1930, provides that religious marriage, not only Catholic, may, under certain conditions, have civil effects.
Regarding schools, art. 23 of the new Constitution, which entered into force on 23 Dec. 1946, proclaims freedom of education “in conformity with the law, under state control and supervision, to which falls the duty of promoting the moral and civic education of citizens.” The state’s functions with regard to private schools were defined in a decree-law of 17 Jan. 1942. In practice, Catholic schools enjoy great freedom, and there are many of them, though their number is insufficient to meet the need.
Religious instruction is compulsory in state schools. The government’s appreciation of the Church’s work in the education of youth is further evidenced by the convention signed on 3 March 1932 by the bishops and the government and ratified by Parliament on 6 July of the following year, by which parish priests in rural areas are entrusted with the founding, organization, and direction of presbyterial schools subsidized by the state.
A law enacted in July 1947 threatened to disturb, to some extent, the good harmony existing between the government and Catholic private schools. The law stipulates that “the history, geography of Haiti, and civic education may be taught only by Haitian professors.”
The Frères de l'instruction chrétienne refused to comply with this provision in their schools; however, they have founded a youth organization for indigenous vocations, which will allow them to have their own Haitian teachers. The government, for its part, has not imposed the application of the law on the aforementioned religious.
The Convention of 25 January 1940 regulates many important issues concerning the property of the Church in Haiti and the organization and administration of parish fabriques. With this Convention, the Catholic Church and its institutions (dioceses, seminaries, parishes, religious congregations) are recognized as having legal personality and the right to property and free administration of their assets.
The bishops are the administrators of the property of their respective dioceses (art. 2) and have high oversight over the property and administration of parishes.
This administration is entrusted to the parish priest and the director of the Council of Notables, assisted by a Fabrique Council (art. 8), whose composition and functions are minutely described in articles 9-33.
The property of a parish church may be used only for the benefit of that same church (art. 4). Buildings intended for worship, episcopal palaces, parish houses and their annexes, seminaries, and buildings intended for teaching are exempt from taxes (art. 5); the immovable property of churches cannot be sold, alienated, or exchanged without the authorization of the higher ecclesiastical authorities (art. 42). The Church is recognized as having the right to acquire property for religious and charitable purposes (art. 7).
Notable are the state's contributions to the Church. Regarding parish churches, the contributions are made by the municipality (art. 53); for cathedrals, episcopal palaces, and diocesan seminaries, by the government (arts. 59-62).
Furthermore, in fulfillment of the commitment outlined in article 6 of the additional Convention to the Concordat dated 17 June 1862, an annual subsidy is granted to the Seminary of St-Jacques in the diocese of Quimper, France, where French priests are trained who wish to exercise their sacred ministry in Haiti (in the Republic, of approximately 300 priests, only about forty are Haitian; the rest are mostly of French origin), and to the Apostolic School and Minor Seminary of Port-au-Prince. Other contributions are stipulated in this Convention and in that of 6 February 1861 for the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince and the bishops of other dioceses, for vicars general, parish priests, and assistant parish priests.
By a decree-law of 12 January 1943, President of the Republic Élie Lescot extended to these same individuals the right to civil pensions, confirmed by a decree of the Haitian government on 28 August 1950.
Ippolito Rotoli
IV. SCHOOL SYSTEM
The rural school is the center of the education of Haiti's youth, where, in addition to spelling, arithmetic, and geography, hygiene, sewing, embroidery, carpentry, weaving, practical agriculture, and animal husbandry are taught. There are 563 state rural schools, 105 Catholic primary schools, and 6 national lycées directed by religious. The training of teachers is provided in the "School of Applied Sciences and Agriculture" and in the mandatory summer courses for teachers.The University of Haiti, founded in 1921, continues the traditions of the National School of Medicine, Surgery, and Pharmacy, founded in 1863, and the National School of Law, founded in 1859.
The education of the Catholic clergy is provided at the École Apostolique Notre-Dame à l'Archevêché in Port-au-Prince, the Grand Séminaire de St-Jacques in Lampaul-Guimiliau, the Collège St-Martial in Port-au-Prince, and the minor seminary École Apostolique in St-Pol-de-Léon.