Keeping faith alive in the face of murder

As I write this, the funeral of Joseph Willard Vancol is taking place in Les Cayes, Haiti. For over 20 years he was a close collaborator with our work in Haiti, especially through our partner the Institute of Technology and Community Development (ITECA). He was murdered by street gangs who attacked the ITECA Training Centre in Ti-Boucan, Gressier on August 20th. 

Vancol was the coordinator of the training centre, as well as director of the community radio station that it housed. Much of his life was dedicated to serving grassroots groups, farmers’ associations, young people, and rural women. In particular, he helped train local leaders and strengthen community organizations.

We are grieving his murder. Vancol had been missing until his body was found in a nearby forest on September 9th. He was 73 years old. I pray that the Lord was close by his side in those final moments of his life. I pray that he was granted courage in the face of his cowardly executioners and that he did not suffer greatly until the angels could carry him away on their wings into the full embrace of God. We have loudly called for a full investigation into his murder so that his family may find peace and his killers may be brought to justice.

The ITECA training centre is currently not accessible to ITECA staff due to the security situation. The centre was founded in 1979, the same year as ITECA itself. It has always served as an important hub for the work we support in Haiti – helping to mobilize, organize, and train farmers in the region. Besides the meeting rooms, it features dormitories that can accommodate up to 60 people. It was also home to an experimental farm. The rabbits, goats, and ducks of the farm were stolen and eaten by the gangs at the time of the attack. Radio station equipment was stolen and/or vandalized, as were three vehicles, a generator and solar panels. 

Surrounding the centre are also 400 earthquake and hurricane resistant homes whose construction we funded after the earthquake in 2010. Those homes have endured many storms since, including Hurricane Matthew that destroyed over 200,000 homes in 2016. However, they could not hold up against the more malevolent violence that comes not at the hands of nature, but the hands of humans. While the houses are still standing, they have been looted and the families that live in them have fled. We pray that they will one day be able to return.

The attack on the community and murder of Vancol have dealt a terrible blow to ITECA’s training activities and programs. We have extended emergency financial support to them in solidarity at this terrible time. We have written a letter of condolence to the ITECA team that was shared with his family members. We are grateful to Mgr. Pierre Goudreault, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who celebrated a mass in his memory on Sept 16 during the Quebec bishops plenary. He also provided this beautiful message, which was shared in our letter:

“Acts of violence that lead to disappearances and homicides constitute serious human rights violations and cannot leave us indifferent. In the face of such injustices, the voices of the victims and their loved ones remain essential: they preserve memory, keep the truth alive, and serve as an indispensable driving force for justice. May the memory of Joseph Willard Vancol continue to inspire all those who work for human dignity, peace, and justice in Haiti.”

Sadly, this is not the first time I have written about partners of Development & Peace Caritas Canada who have lost their lives to violence. When we speak of the poor and those who fight for them, we are not speaking about an idea or promoting an ideology. We are speaking about people. This is why we are so passionate about asking others to becoming members of our organization and join our work. We are thinking about people that we know. People like Joseph Willard Vancol who so often risk their lives for the sake of their communities. His death is yet another reminder of how little I myself am asked by God to risk for the sake of justice in the world. It is a grace from God that I can take action for the Gospel without risk to my own life. And that grace is my motivation to ask no less than every Catholic in this country to stand up and join our work to support people like Joseph.

(Stocking is Deputy Director of Public Awareness & Engagement, Ontario and Atlantic Regions, for Development and Peace.)

A version of this article appeared in the September 27, 2026 issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "Keeping faith alive in the face of murder".