Joseph Serge Miot (23 November 1946 – 12 January 2010
) was a
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 ...
an
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of the
Roman 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 ...
. He was the ninth
Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, serving from 2008 until his death as a result of the
12 January 2010 earthquake.
Biography
Miot 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 ...
,
Grand'Anse on 23 November 1946. He was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
to the
priesthood on 4 July 1975 in the
Diocese of Jérémie.
On 29 July 1997, he was appointed
Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence.
These include:
* Coadj ...
of
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 ...
by
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 ...
,
[ because the people had been displeased with Archbishop François-Wolff Ligondé's supposed encouragement of the coup movement — the archdiocesan offices were burned in retribution. Archbishop Miot received his ]episcopal consecration
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...
on the following 12 October from Archbishop Christophe Pierre
Christophe Louis Yves Georges Pierre (born 30 January 1946) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church. He is an archbishop who has been serving as the apostolic nuncio (ambassador) to the United States since 2016. Pierre previously served as ...
, with Archbishops François Gayot, SMM, and Ligondé serving as co-consecrators
A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop.
The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...
.[
During his tenure, he denounced the incarceration of Fr. Gérard Jean-Juste by the government of ]Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Gérard Latortue
Gérard Latortue (born 19 June 1934 in Gonaïves) is a Haitian politician and diplomat who served as the prime minister of Haiti from 12 March 2004 to 9 June 2006. He was an official in the United Nations for many years, and briefly served as f ...
; Miot later suspended Father Jean-Juste after the priest disobeyed orders to not present himself as a political candidate.
Miot succeeded Ligondé, becoming the ninth Archbishop of Port-au-Prince[ upon the latter's resignation on 1 March 2008.
The ]Port-au-Prince Cathedral
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de L'Assomption), often called Port-au-Prince Cathedral (french: Cathédrale de Port-au-Prince), was a cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Built between 1884 and 1914, ...
, archdiocese offices, and many other churches were destroyed by the earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
on 12 January 2010. Miot was killed when the force of the quake threw him off his balcony at the papal nunciature. Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, the Apostolic Administrator
An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
of the Archdiocese, said that he originally sought an immediate burial for Miot, but that it would have conflicted with local tradition. Miot was buried at Lilavois Cemetery on 23 January 2010 immediately after his funeral Mass
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
. Celebrants presiding at the funeral Mass included Timothy, Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York
The Archbishop of New York is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan bishop, metropolitan see of the ecclesiastic ...
and chairman of the board of Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...
; Thomas Wenski
Thomas Gerard Wenski (born October 18, 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed Archbishop of Miami by Pope Benedict XVI on April 20, 2010 and was installed on June 1, 2010. He previously served as Bishop of ...
, Bishop of Orlando; and Archbishop Bernardito Auza.
See also
* Rev. Sam Dixon
* Zilda Arns
Zilda Arns Neumann (August 25, 1934 – January 12, 2010) was a Brazilian pediatrician and aid worker.
A sister of Cardinal Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns, the former Archbishop of São Paulo known for his efforts against the Brazilian military ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miot, Joseph Serge
1946 births
2010 deaths
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Haiti
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Haiti
Victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake
Burials in Port-au-Prince
Haitian Roman Catholic archbishops
Roman Catholic archbishops of Port-au-Prince