30342: Hermantin(news)Eventful journey took priest from Cap Haitien to Miramar (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Eventful journey took priest from Cap Haitien to Miramar


By James D. Davis
Religion Editor

April 8, 2007



As a child, Fritzner Bellonce was one of nine siblings in Haiti's Cap Haitien 
region, where his father farmed rice, beans, potatoes and bananas.

As a man, the now Rev. Fritzner Bellonce -- one of South Florida's newest 
priests -- says his first Easter Mass today, at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church 
in Miramar.

It's been an eventful journey from Cap Haitien to Miramar, where he leads his 
flock today in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But the highlight 
of the 32-year-old priest's passage was a vivid spiritual rebirth of his own.

It happened last year during the five-day retreat required of all aspiring 
priests.

Praying at St. Leo Abbey, near Tampa, Bellonce asked: "Let me know if this is 
the right thing for me to do."

Abruptly he felt a storm of sensations -- heat, cold, fear turning to joy -- an 
experience he still struggles to describe.

"I was transformed -- I was not myself," Bellonce says. "I felt under the power 
of the Holy Spirit. Something was given to me grace was poured out on me, to 
answer the call."

The call has brought him to the multicultural St. Bart's, as parishioners call 
it. There he is valued for his flexibility: He preaches not only in his native 
Creole, but also in Spanish and English.

"He's smart and sensitive to people and cultures," says an admiring Rev. Paul 
Vuturo, pastor at St. Bartholomew. "He is a wonderful gift to the parish."

Bellonce started weeks ago to piece together his first Easter message, 
reviewing biblical verses dealing with the story.

Themes of repentance, forgiveness and returning to God -- these have been 
turning over in his mind, he says.

"I've always felt Easter is the peak moment for Christianity," he says. "Most 
people come to church then, and they're not thinking of getting gifts, as on 
Christmas. They give themselves to God, to renew their commitment to the 
faith."

Lofty thoughts from a man who was raised so close to the land. But his rural 
beginnings did not preclude church. Bellonce's mother, Angelique, attended 
church every day and sent him to Catholic school. He was influenced also by a 
young priest in his parish.

"He was a role model for every young man there," Bellonce says. "He always 
tried to get the good out of people. He embraced everyone, no matter the 
background, as a human being who could contribute."

Bellonce found himself considering the priesthood when he moved to the Bahamas 
-- a standard steppingstone for many Haitians setting their sights on South 
Florida.

Living on Eleuthera, making cement blocks, he was amazed to hear a Bahamian 
priest say, "You would make a good priest" -- on their first meeting.

When Bellonce reached South Florida, just before his 20th birthday, he was 
turned down at first by the Archdiocese of Miami. He persisted in seeking a 
priestly vocation for more than a year, making contacts while working at a 
Chinese fast-food restaurant.

Finally, a friendly priest in Wilton Manors wrote the archdiocesan vocations 
director on his behalf -- and got other priests to do the same.

Bellonce then began the nine-year "formation" process -- the education, 
spiritual mentoring and personal soul searching of priests in training: first 
at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, then at St. Vincent de Paul 
Regional Seminary near Boynton Beach. The rigorous process shakes out most 
students; 13 entered St. John Vianney, but only four graduated.

"For some, it was the pressure of ministering to people, or living with other 
priests," Bellonce says. "Some decided they wanted to marry."

A starker challenge arose in the late 1990s, when one of several sexual abuse 
scandals involving priests hit the headlines.

"It was scary to wake up every day and check the newspaper or TV, to see if the 
next one was someone you know," Bellonce says. "I asked myself how I would face 
the world when people asked me about the scandals."

He recalls a verbal attack at an immigration office: "Are you one of them? Are 
you blind? Can't you see what's happening?" The rant reduced the young 
seminarian to tears, until the office secretary, who'd known him several years, 
stuck up for him.

Later, his mentor, the Rev. John McLaughlin, steadied him with a simple 
sentence: "Remember, you are here to make a difference."

At St. Bartholomew, Bellonce has settled into the rhythms of church life: 
counseling, confessions, praying with the sick, officiating at weddings. But 
he's still not used to hearing "Father Fritz," or calling parishioners by name.

"In Haitian culture, we call elders `Mom' or `Dad' or `Uncle'," he explains. "I 
usually end up saying `Mom,' then her name."

Yet he says the work, plus the soul-shaking experience at the St. Leo retreat, 
has helped equip him for a life of ministry.

"I used to wonder, how would I shepherd and care for people? Maybe I could cope 
with seminary, but could I deal with common people?" he says.

"Then I found it wasn't hard to extend myself. It's a grace given me."

James D. Davis can be reached at jdavis@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4730.


Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

_________________________________________________________________
Exercise your brain! Try Flexicon. 
http://games.msn.com/en/flexicon/default.htm?icid=flexicon_hmemailtaglineapril07