Please join us in prayer that the Holy Spirit will move hearts to honor Pat’s beautiful legacy of generosity, ensuring that our mission remains vibrant and fruitful for years to come.

With gratitude and warmth,
The PTPA Team

Have you considered making a gift to PTPA this year?

Because of you, PTPA has recently been able to:

As a reminder, PTPA does not charge fees for its general services. We rely entirely on the generosity of members and supporters to continue accompanying our community.

When you give to PTPA, you are investing in faith-filled relationships.

If this community has ever encouraged you, guided you, or uplifted you, we invite you to make a gift today so that this support remains available within and beyond our community.

As we enter the summer months, we invite you to keep the support flowing.

Your generosity makes it possible for PTPA to provide guidance, connection, and accompaniment at no cost. It sustains a small but dedicated team who walk alongside parish partners, nurturing relationships rooted in faith and solidarity.

No contribution is too small. Every gift strengthens our shared mission.

Click here to view a summary of PTPA’s Core Services and Support, and activities outside PTPA’s Current Capacity.

Or MAIL YOUR DONATION to

        Parish Twinning Program of the Americas
        407 W Smith Valley Rd #1222
        Greenwood, IN 46142
        (Please include the note: “PTPA Mid-Year Appeal”)

Our hearts remain ablaze with purpose and connection, and deep gratitude! Thank you for your support and participation.

The PTPA team

One of PTPA’s core commitments is to accompany parishes in building strong and lasting twinning relationships; especially during times when distance, uncertainty, and hardship make connection more difficult. The Haiti Parish Visit Pilot Program was launched with this commitment at its heart, as a tangible expression of solidarity and accompaniment when in-person encounters have not always been possible.

Led by the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas (PTPA), the pilot initiative was carried out on behalf of U.S. Catholic sister parishes to document parish realities, review ministries, and deepen mutual understanding. Implemented in two phases, the visits reached 18 parishes across the North, South, and Southeast departments of Haiti, offering a broader and more unified view of parish life across regions.

These visits strengthened longstanding relationships while also reinforcing accountability and transparency between sister parishes. Just as importantly, they provided a deeper and more holistic understanding of the daily realities, challenges, and opportunities facing parish communities. Across every region visited, one truth remains clear: the Catholic Church continues to serve as one of the most stable and trusted institutional presences; often sustained in large part through the enduring commitment of parish twinning partnerships.

Throughout all parish visits, one consistent message emerged: parish twinning is a vital lifeline. It sustains essential ministries, supports education and basic services, strengthens local leadership, and promotes dignity, stability, and hope within communities navigating profound hardship. The presence and commitment of U.S. Catholic parish partners are not only appreciated; they are deeply felt in the everyday life of each parish.

The Haiti Parish Visit Pilot Program is a powerful reminder that even when physical travel is not possible, relationship endures. Through faith and partnership, solidarity continues to be lived, strengthened, and shared across borders; bearing witness to the unity and mission of the universal Church.

To access our consolidated report please click here Haiti Parish Visit Pilot - Phase 1-2 Consolidated report.

Next steps

We recognize that, at present, access to many areas remains limited due to ongoing security challenges. Travel by road to certain regions can be difficult and, at times, unsafe, while current air travel options are largely concentrated in the North, Northeast, and Southeast.

Given these constraints, plans for Phase 3 are not currently underway. However, for parishes with twinned sister parishes in the North, Northeast, or Northwest regions that did not participate in Phase 1 and are now interested, PTPA could explore organizing an additional round of visits focused on the North.

To move forward with such an effort, we would need to secure participation from at least 10 parishes in order to develop a viable plan and ensure that participation fees remain reasonable while covering essential logistical costs (including airfare, ground transportation, and related expenses).

PTPA will continue to closely monitor the situation and remain committed to identifying safe, thoughtful, and mission-aligned opportunities to expand this work as conditions allow.

Janet Brackett, a parishioner at St. Joseph’s Parish in Farmington, Maine, was blessed with an opportunity to visit her sister parish on a solo mission trip to Haiti on behalf of her parish.

St. Joseph’s, along with St. Rose of Lima Parish in nearby Jay, Maine, has been twinned with St. Laurent Parish in the Diocese of Les Cayes since 2004. The last group to visit from these parishes traveled in March 2019, and Janet visited on her own in March 2020. Since then, they have kept in touch via email and WhatsApp, and although they are grateful for those communications, it’s not the same as visiting in person.

The goals for the visit were simple: to meet the new pastor of St. Laurent Parish, who arrived in the fall of 2022; to re-establish, if possible, what has always been a vibrant and meaningful relationship between their parishes here and the parish of St. Laurent; and to see for herself what current conditions are in St. Laurent.

In terms of re-establishing relationships, it was a good first step. Experiencing daily life in St. Laurent again was invaluable. The high point for Janet was seeing the progress that’s being made in the primary school that their parishes helped them build. And in addition, she discusses the best transportation methods, and safety issues near the twin.

Click here to read Janet's trip report in full, and to view photos from her mission.

In addition to fundraising ideas by other PTPA members shared in the PTPA May newsletter, another PTPA member, Kevin Mulkerin, a member of Our Lady of Lake Church in Sparta, NJ, has shared his parish efforts to support its twin parish.

Our Lady of Lake Church has a twenty-plus-year twinning relationship with Our Lady of Nativity located in Acul-Du-Nord, Haiti. They support a large local Haitian school (700-800 students) by offering some funds to offset the cost of student lunches and teacher salaries. One of its most popular methods to raise funds, organized by multiple members of the Haiti Twinning Committee, has been a White Elephant Sale that takes place each year at the Parish Carnival. They park a trailer outside of the church, collect donations from the community of lightly used goods (ex. clothes, furniture and large appliances), and offer them for sale. All profits go to the sister parish. This helps both their local community and their sister parish. In total, they have raised between $10K-$15K annually from this activity. 

If you need additional information, please click here to contact Kevin.

Join parish leaders and members from across the Midwest for a day of inspiration, connection, and renewed commitment to missionary twinning at the conference sponsored by CINCH (Central Indiana Churches for Haiti), and co-sponsored by PTPA.

Date: Saturday, October 17
Time: 9:30 AM – 4:15 PM (EDT)
Mass: 4:30 PM (following the conference)

Location:
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church – Social Hall
10655 Haverstick Road, Carmel, IN 46033
Parking available behind the church – enter through Door #6

Cost: $50 per person (payable in advance)

Conference Focus/Theme:
Strengthening and evolving Catholic missionary twinning across the Midwest, with an emphasis on collaboration, shared learning, and deepening parish-to-parish relationships

Stay tuned for registration details and full agenda!

Does your school, clinic, hospital, church, orphanage, or community project in Northern Haiti struggle with unreliable electricity, high fuel costs, or lack of access to power?

Brighten Haiti, a PTPA collaborator, may be able to help. Brighten Haiti is a nonprofit organization focused on bringing sustainable solar energy solutions to communities across Haiti. Our mission is to help schools educate students, clinics store medicine safely, churches serve their communities, and small businesses grow through reliable electricity.

To date, we have helped bring solar electricity to schools serving thousands of students in Haiti, while also training young Haitian men and women through our Solar Apprentice Program.

One of our key initiatives is our Solar4All program. Solar4All is designed to make solar energy more accessible and affordable for Haitian communities. Through this program, we work to provide:
• Solar systems for schools, clinics, churches, orphanages, and community centers
• Affordable solar products for families and small businesses
• Training and economic opportunities for local Haitians
• Sustainable alternatives to expensive diesel generators

We understand that every project is different. Some organizations need small backup systems for lighting and internet. Others need larger systems for refrigeration, water pumping, computer labs, fans, or full building power.

Our team can help evaluate your needs and explore practical solar solutions for your project in Northern Haiti.

If your organization, church, school, clinic, or nonprofit is interested in learning more, Click Here to view Brighten Haiti website.