Guy A. Sansaricq (October 6, 1934 – August 21, 2021) was a Haitian-American
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...
of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Diocese of Brooklyn
The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. ...
in
New York
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* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
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Film and television
* '' ...
from 2006 to 2010. He headed the Office of the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees of the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...
from 1988 to 2021.
He was the first Haitian-born bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He was an emblematic figure in advocating the rights of Haitian immigrants and the undocumented, as well as an ardent opponent of the Duvalier dictatorship.
Biography
Early life and ministry
Sansaricq was born in
Jérémie
Jérémie ( ht, Jeremi) is a commune and capital city of the Grand'Anse department in Haiti. It had a population of about 31,000 at the 2003 census. It is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The Grande-Anse River flows near the ...
,
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
, into a Catholic family. He attended the seminary of the Jeremie Diocese for five years, after which he received a scholarship to St. Paul's Pontifical Seminary in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Ontario, Canada, where he studied philosophy and theology for seven years.
On June 29, 1960, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Les Cayes in Haiti in the cathedral in
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
, Haiti.
Sansaricq was first assigned to the staff of the cathedral in
Les Cayes
Les Cayes ( , ), often referred to as Aux Cayes (; ht, Okay), is a commune and seaport in the Les Cayes Arrondissement, in the Sud department of Haiti, with a population of 71,236. Due to its isolation from the political turmoil of the capital, ...
. After training there, he worked for seven years as a
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
for Haitian immigrants in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
. There he developed his understanding of the plight of emigrants, especially the undocumented. When he completed that assignment, the government of Jean Claude Duvalier refused him reentry into Haiti. Many of his relatives died in a massacre, the ''Vêpres de Jérémie'' or
Jérémie Vespers
The term Jérémie Vespers refers to a massacre that took place in August, September and October 1964 in the Haitian town of Jérémie. It took place after a group of 13 young Haitians calling themselves " Jeune Haiti" landed on August 6, 1964 at ...
, under the Duvalier regime in August 1964. He was given a scholarship to study social sciences at the
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as ...
in Rome, where he received a master's degree in 1971 after four years of study.
Brooklyn priest
In 1971 he moved to the Diocese of Brooklyn and was made coordinator of the Brooklyn Diocese's Haitian Apostolate. He was assigned to Sacred Heart parish in
Cambria Heights
Cambria Heights is a residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Springfield Boulevard and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, the Elmont, Nassau County border on the east, Qu ...
where he served for 22 years. In the 1970s, he and other Haitian-born priests working in the U.S. founded the National Center of the Haitian Apostolate (NCHA). In October 1988, the NCHA was affiliated with the newly created Office of the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Sansaricq was named to head that office, a position he held until his death.
In 1993, he became pastor of St. Jerome's Church in
Flatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the north, ...
. He was named
Prelate of Honour
A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour.
They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in 1999.
In March 2000, he joined ten other religious leaders in confronting New York City Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
and Police Commissioner
Howard Safir
Howard Safir (born February 24, 1942) is an American law enforcement professional who served as the 39th New York City Police Commissioner from 1996 to 2000 and the 29th New York City Fire Commissioner from 1994 to 1996, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. ...
following the accidental shooting of an unarmed Haitian-American man, Patrick M. Dorismond, in a scuffle with undercover police officers. Sansaricq had officiated at Dorismond's funeral that concluded with a violent altercation with the police.
Brooklyn auxiliary bishop
On June 6, 2006,
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
appointed him auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn and titular bishop of Glenndálocha. He received his episcopal consecration on 22 August from Bishop
Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio
Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio (born June 16, 1944) is an American prelate of the Latin Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church and founded a Haitian based Media Service (Tele-Solidarite).
Retirement and death
Sansaricq submitted his resignation as required upon reaching the age of 75, and Pope Benedict accepted it on 6 October 2010, his 76th birthday. He remained very active in retirement.
Sansaricq died suddenly on the morning of August 21, 2021, the eve of the 15th anniversary of his episcopal ordination, in the rectory at St. Gregory the Great Church in Crown Heights.