To commemorate World Refugee Day (June 20th), our “Wednesday Talk” English conversation club had the privilege of having Father Isaia Birollo an Italian priest living in Haiti.
He studied theology in the United States and lived there for a number of years. He belongs to the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles – Scalabrinians, based in Santo 19, Croix-des Bouquets. Scalabrinians are an international community of men who have as their identity and mission to be missionary religious and who follow in the footsteps of Blessed Bishop John Baptist Scalabrini, on behalf of the migrants.
They are called to proclaim the Good News to the migrants, to defend their rights, to promote a more humane society where the migrant is not seen as a foreigner or an illegal, but where the migrant can feel he is a citizen with full rights. The order was created on November 28, 1887, to assist the migrants who were crossing the Atlantic to reach the Americas.
Father Birollo’s life story and journey inspired so many of our students who in turn asked great questions and now have a better understanding of the life of a missionary priest and the different kinds of refugees around the world.