Haitian Pastor Murdered

Haitian Pastor Murdered

The man known as "the father of Lutheranism in Haiti," Dr. Doris Jean Louis, was murdered March 12 at his home in Port-au-Prince during an attempted robbery. According to reports, Dr. Louis and his wife returned to their home Friday evening after working with a medical team in the city. As he was closing the gates of the house's compound, he was confronted by two assailants who demanded money. When Dr. Louis responded he didn't have any, the robbers shot him. His wife, Elucie, was also beaten in the violence. This was not the first threat on Dr. Louis and his family. In 1994, eight armed intruders stormed into the couple's bedroom at night demanding money while their two younger sons slept. (Their oldest son was away at college in Nebraska.) During the ensuing struggle that drove off the attackers, both Dr. Louis and his wife were shot, but their sons were unharmed. The family later moved into the hills above Port-au-Prince, hoping to avoid further violence.

Our prayers go out to Elucie and her children, our Haitian partners in ministry and LCMS Vice-President William Diekelman who is attending funeral services there this weekend. We pray for the ongoing work of medical and human care teams flooding the region, for their protection, and for grace to prevail over fear. May we renew the call to pray for Haiti and never forget as the scriptures teach to “remember those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” (Hebrews 13:3)