Local Priest Arrives Home from Haiti

Church members hugged and cried

Several members of a D.C. church gave an emotional welcome home to a priest who survived the Haiti earthquake.

Father Arsene Jasmin of The Shire of the Sacred Heart was in Haiti when the earthquake struck nearly two weeks ago. He survived the quake but struggled for days to fly back to the District.

"I can't talk to you right now, I'm suppose to be preparing for church...but I'm very, very late give me a chance okay? We will talk later," Rev. Jasmin told a reporter before Sunday's services.

When Rev. Jasmin entered the church parishioners rushed toward him. Most of the congregants hugged and cried at the sight of a member of the community returning home.
 
"I'm very happy to see father back from Haiti," Justine Adeyanju said. "It was very important for us."
 
Other parishioners said Father Jasmin lived on the streets while in Haiti, many in the church feared he died when the earthquake destoryed numerous homes, chuches and building on January 12th.
 
More than 150,000 people are feared dead, according to the Haitian government.
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