Most gracious God, by the calling of thy servant James Theodore Holly thou gavest us our first bishop of African-American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led thy people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom thou callest from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates James Theodore Holly, Bishop of Haiti, and of the Dominican Republic, 1911

A missionary in Haiti from 1861, Holly was the 1st African-American bishop in the Episcopal Church when consecrated Bishop of Haiti in 1874 pic.twitter.com/pyNKYEE9Bz

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) March 13, 2024

Most gracious God, by the calling of thy servant James Theodore Holly thou gavest us our first bishop of African-American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led thy people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom thou callest from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates James Theodore Holly, Bishop of Haiti, Dominican Republic, 1911 https://t.co/mD07kHRiRT

Holly went to Haiti as a missionary in 1861 & was the 1st African-American bishop in the Episcopal Church when he became Bishop of Haiti in 1874 pic.twitter.com/WOOxtdzGH9

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) March 13, 2020

Most gracious God, by the calling of thy servant James Theodore Holly thou gavest us our first bishop of African-American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led thy people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom thou callest from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates James Theodore Holly, Bishop of Haiti, Dominican Republic, 1911 https://t.co/mD07kHRiRT

Holly went to Haiti as a missionary in 1861 & was the 1st African-American bishop in the Episcopal Church when he became Bishop of Haiti in 1874 pic.twitter.com/WOOxtdzGH9

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) March 13, 2020

Most gracious God, by the calling of thy servant James Theodore Holly thou gavest us our first bishop of African-American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led thy people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom thou callest from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

1874 #JamesTheodoreHolly, an African American who emigrated to #Haiti in 1861, is elected bishop of #Haiti. pic.twitter.com/BrXmoPdGOR

— Charles Roberts (@mrcharleyr) November 3, 2016

Like the country itself, Burial Road stretches between those who have everything and those with nothing. Even modest funeral parlors offer elaborate services starting at $1,100 — far beyond the means of most Haitians, who live on $2 a day or less.

No matter how rich in love they may be, most people can’t pay those fees. And so, the bodies of their sons and mothers wait here so long that their faces melt, their skin unravels. They are stacked one atop another in gruesome, wet piles that resemble medieval paintings of purgatory.

The men who have finally come to their rescue aren’t friends or relatives. They don’t know their individual stories. But they recognize poverty.

“They didn’t have a chance,” says Raphaël Louigene, the burial team’s stocky, soft-spoken leader. “They spent their lives in misery, they died in misery.”

Mr. Louigene and the other men work for the St. Luke Foundation for Haiti, a charitable organization started in 2000 to help the country’s poorest.

Read it all.

Haiti: The Heroes of Burial Road @riotta @radio3mondo https://t.co/efvwFwkc2m via @nytimes

— A. Cafasso Vitale (@Alcavi) December 14, 2017