Saturday at the St. Lambert Church at the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Patroness of Haiti), Lesly Condé, the generaI Consul of Haiti in Chicago delivered a message as he does every year.

"Dear compatriots and members of the Congregation,

Friends of Haiti,

Ladies and gentlemen,

My brothers and sisters,

I am quite pleased to, once again, participate in the celebration of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on behalf of the Consulate General of Haiti in Chicago. It is good to see so many sympathetic familiar faces, and to welcome new friends of our Community. I greet you all very warmly.

On behalf of the Chicago Haitian Community, let me, first and foremost, thank the heads of this church who, every year, offer us an opportunity to celebrate Haiti's Patron Saint, praise her with all our hearts, and ask her to enlighten our path on the road to the future.

Somehow, our nation has held on. Haiti is now two hundred and twelve (212) years old, but it has endured more than its share of calamities. Its history, and mankind's insensitivity, laid the ground for the bleak result that is known the world over. However, knowing that as of the first day of January 1804, our minuscule, frail and lonesome nation was the target of systematic isolation, we owe a debt of gratitude to Our Lady of Perpetual Help because, after all, we are still a nation among nations. Like every other nation in the world, we have our challenges, fears and hopes. Let us, together, ask our Patron Saint to continue to enlighten and protect us.

In closing, on behalf of the Consulate General of Haiti in Chicago, I want to thank the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help for this kind invitation. Moreover, I urge you to keep asking our Patron Saint to enlighten our path.

Thank you for your attention !

Lesly Condé

Consul General"

IH/ iciHaiti