Update on Father Medard Laz: A lifetime of helping others

In the Spring of 2017, the life and work of Father Medard Laz was highlighted in The Quest.  Dr. Catalona and Father Laz have remained in frequent contact and here we provide and update on this remarkable human being.

Seventeen years ago, Father Medard Laz survived prostate cancer. After Father Laz’s prostate cancer and subsequent recovery, he dedicated his “new life” to helping the people of Haiti.

Since that time, Father Laz, founding pastor of Holy Family Parish in Inverness (Chicago area) organized annual fundraisers to help build homes, schools and hospital additions in Haiti in partnership with the nonprofit Food for the Poor.

Over the years, Father Laz completed missions, including the building of schools.  Though since his last visit in 2018, Haiti’s civil unrest and crime including the kidnapping of missionaries and children, have made it too perilous for him to return. Father Laz has a great affection for the faith-filled people of Haiti and is saddened by all the heartache these people have endured as a result of the many political and natural disasters and calamities that have befallen them.

The September 2021 virtual fundraiser will pay for the construction of a new school, Ecole National ti Pousseline in Roseaux, Haiti. Planning for this fundraiser began months before this same area suffered much damage in August after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Though many homes in this area were destroyed by this earthquake, the school will still be built and will serve as a sign of hope for the people of Haiti.

Father Laz has sent computers to Haitian school children who can’t afford them.