Hopes rise in Haiti for new Episcopal cathedral

Among the casualties of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti two years ago this month was Holy Trinity Cathedral in downtown Port-au-Prince. Now, with the support of donors from the U.S. and around the world, construction on a new cathedral is expected to begin this spring.

Sikhumbuzo Vundla, chief of operations of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, said in an interview that enough money has already been raised to launch the first construction phase as early as this March.

Vundla said that the complex will also include a music school, a vocational school, a primary school and a secondary school as well as a convent for the Sisters of St. Margaret, which were also destroyed in the earthquake. But the fund-raising for and the building of these structures will be handled separately from the cathedral, he said.