Emmanuel R. Saint-Hilaire, SJ
Emmanuel R. Saint-Hilaire, SJ
Emmanuel R. Saint-Hilaire, SJ, 32, was born in Gros-Morne, a small village in Haiti, and raised in the city of Gonaïves in the northern part of the country. An altar server starting at the age of 8, Saint-Hilaire hails from a devout family that includes several priests and another Jesuit, who is currently studying theology. Saint-Hilaire studied at Eben-Ezer High School in Gonaïves before transferring to Notre Dame of Lourdes High School, affiliated with St. Pius X Catholic Church, a minor seminary in Port-de-Paix, Haiti. As a candidate to the Society of Jesus, he taught French and math in a local high school before entering the Jesuits in 2004. During his time as a novice, Saint-Hilaire worked with Haitian refugees in the Bateyes in the Dominican Republic before being missioned to Bogotá, Colombia, to study philosophy at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He earned a Licentiate in Philosophy while working as a translator for Jesuit Refugee Service and teaching philosophy at the Jesuit high school, Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé. Missioned back to Haiti, Saint-Hilaire served as director of communications for Fe y Alegría, an international organization devoted to transforming communities through education. Then, for two years, he taught philosophy at Episcopal University in Port-au-Prince while also teaching Spanish to Jesuit novices. Missioned next to Regis College at the University of Toronto, Saint-Hilaire earned a Master of Divinity degree and a master’s degree in theology while helping as a deacon at Sacre Coeur Parish in Toronto and serving the Haitian community at Saint-Louis-de-France Parish. Fluent in four languages and the author of three books, Saint-Hilaire will work with Jesuit Migrant Service and in a Jesuit parish in Ouanaminthe in the north of Haiti after ordination and will then head to Paris for doctoral studies in philosophy and literature at the Jesuits’ Centre Sèvres. His Jesuit formation has taken him from Haiti to Colombia, Spain and Canada, and he’s grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the universal Society of Jesus, to meet and to serve people from other cultures and to broaden his vision of the world. His first Mass as a Jesuit priest will take place at Sainte Cecile’s Chapel at Treille, Gros-Morne, Haiti.
(French Canada Province)