Fr. Dudley
As Viatorians continue to seek deeper internationality across our community, we are bringing you a series of podcast episodes with Viatorians from other countries. This episode is a conversation with Fr. Dudley Pierre, CSV, of the Region of Haiti.
“We struggle for life – life in Haiti is quite difficult,” Fr. Dudley said. “Our primary ministries are education, catechism, and liturgy, and most of all we try to be where people need us. We provide pastoral accompaniment to everyone, both the poor and rich.”
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Fr. Dudley studied multiple languages when he was younger, including learning English at the Haitian-American Institute in Port-au-Prince. He had a strong foundation in grammar and vocabulary from school. Then when he ministered and lived in the US or in Spanish-speaking countries such as Chile and Peru, he got up to speed quickly by putting his preexisting knowledge into motion. “Leadership chose me to accompany our novices at the international novitiate in Chile. I spent four years there, and I used this time to study theology,” Fr. Dudley said – and he continues to study in Spanish, now a graduate student in Spain.
Brothers together at Maternity BVM in 2024: (left to right) Fr. Dudley, Br. Rob Robertson, CSV, Br. Marc Innocent Prophete, CSV (also from Haiti), and Br. Peter Lamick, CSV.
For those who have been intimidated by language study and practice, Fr. Dudley has an encouraging analogy for how he learns languages. “Learning a language is like music – to play music, you have to feel it. If you don’t feel music, you cannot dance or play music,” Fr. Dudley said. “If you like it and have curiosity, it’s possible. Even if you’re 50 or 60, you can still learn. I know some brothers who have traveled to other countries in mission and learned the languages of those countries so that they could collaborate in ministry there.”
We currently minister in France, Spain, and Italy in Europe; Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast in Africa; Canada and the US in North America; Haiti, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, and Chile in the Caribbean and Central and South America; and Japan in Asia. Dig into our global Viatorian solidarity with Fr. Dudley in Ep. 101 of Viatorian Voices on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, and stay tuned for more episodes in this series.
For more background on Fr. Dudley and Haiti, consider reading:
- VYC Opens with Positive Energy (2024), when Fr. Dudley sat for interviews with VYC participants.
- Praying for the Safety of All Haitians (2021), when Fr. Hall shared Fr. Dudley’s request as superior to pray for Haiti following the killing of their president.
- Province Lends a Hand (2021), when our province celebrated with Fr. Dudley the re-construction progress of Haiti’s earthquake-ravaged Villa Manresa retreat center.
Also, you can watch this video from 2021, where Fr. Dudley updates the Province of Spain about the projects the province’s donations supported in Haiti.