François-Wolff Ligondé

The Most Reverend

François-Wolff Ligondé
Archbishop of Port-au-Prince
ChurchRoman Catholic
ArchdiocesePort-au-Prince
SeeCathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption
Appointed20 August 1966
Retired1 March 2008
PredecessorFrançois-Marie-Joseph Poirier
SuccessorJoseph Serge Miot
Orders
Ordination11 July 1954
by Rémy Jérôme Augustin
Consecration28 October 1966
by Antonio Samorè
Personal details
Born(1928-01-17)17 January 1928
Les Cayes, Haiti
Died8 April 2013(2013-04-08) (aged 85)
NationalityHaitian

François-Wolff Ligondé (January 17, 1928 in Les Cayes – April 8, 2013) was a Haitian Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Port-au-Prince from 1966 to 2008. He was the first Haitian to hold the office.

Ligondé was born in 1928 in Les Cayes. He was ordained to the priesthood on 11 July 1954 by Monsignor Rémy Augustin, the first Haitian-born bishop and auxiliary bishop of Port-au-Prince.[1][2] He became a professor at the Collège Saint Louis of Jérémie before being sent to study in Fribourg, Switzerland.[3] Ligondé was appointed Archbishop of Port-au-Prince on 20 August 1966.[4] Ligondé's appointment came five days after the signing of a concordat between Haiti and the Holy See which allowed François Duvalier to personally nominate high-ranking Haitian clerics.[5]

Ligondé was the first Haitian-born Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, his predecessors having been white Europeans (mostly Frenchmen). Prior to the concordat, Duvalier had engaged in a lengthy struggle with the Catholic magisterium to "nationalize" the Haitian church and staff its hierarchy with black Haitian clerics.[6] Duvalier expelled Ligondé's immediate predecessor, Fench-born François Poirier, along with other senior clerics (including Msgr. Augustin), in 1960.[7]

As a result of his patronage by François Duvalier, Ligondé was a close ally of Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, and frequently praised them in his sermons.[8][9] He presided over Papa Doc's funeral and the opulent wedding of Baby Doc and Michèle Bennett (also Ligondé's niece) in Port-au-Prince Cathedral in 1980, which was broadcast live to the nation.[10]

After the fall of Baby Doc, Ligondé found himself at odds with Salesian priest and emerging politician Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who characterized Ligondé as a "faithful servant" of the Duvaliers.[9] In January 1991, Ligondé reportedly "fled into the night clad only in undershorts" when mobs attacked the Port-au-Prince Cathedral during a coup attempt against President Aristide. In a sermon shortly prior to the attack, he compared Aristide's government to a Bolshevik dictatorship. This statement was "seen as giving the green light for the coup". Ligondé and other church leaders subsequently went into hiding.[11] Although his pastoral role as archbishop ended after this incident, he remained archbishop until his retirement on 1 March 2008.[4][12]

Ligondé died on 8 April 2013. His funeral at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Turgeau was attended by then-president Michel Martelly and other notables.[12]

References

  1. ^ Times, Special to The New York (1961-01-11). "CATHOLIC BISHOP IS EXILED BY HAITI; Duvalier Police Act After Church Paper Asks Repeal of Student Curbs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  2. ^ "Bishop Rémy Jérôme Augustin [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  3. ^ "Haiti - Religion : Last tribute to Mgr. Ligondé - HaitiLibre.com : Haiti news 7/7". HaitiLibre.com. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  4. ^ a b "Archbishop François-Wolff Ligondé [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2025-02-07.
  5. ^ "Papa Doc's concordat (1966) | Concordat Watch - Haiti". www.concordatwatch.eu. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  6. ^ Times, Homer Bigart Special to The New York (1971-04-25). "Sudden Panic Grips Duvalier Mourners In Funeral March". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  7. ^ "CATHOLIC BISHOP IS EXILED BY HAITI; Duvalier Police Act After Church Paper Asks Repeal of Student Curbs". The New York Times. 1961-01-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  8. ^ Hockstader, Lee (January 9, 1991). "Haitian mob destroys property of coup-maker and church". Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Haiti bishop who married 'Baby Doc' Duvalier dies". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2013-04-08. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  10. ^ "Haiti bishop who married 'Baby Doc' Duvalier dies". The San Diego Union-Tribune. April 8, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  11. ^ Sheppard Jr., Nathaniel (January 13, 1991). "Priest's rise to Haiti's presidency may spur change". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Haiti - Religion : Mgr François Wolff passed away". Haiti Libre. April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2021.


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