Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial

Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial
Location
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Information
Type Private
Motto A force, a tradition, a family
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established 1865
Grades 1 to 13
Gender Boys
Age 6 to 19
Language French
Website saintmartial.edu.ht

Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial (founded in 1865),[1] is an all-boy catholic school located in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The school is under the control of the Holy Ghost Fathers.[2]

History

The Concordat signed by Haiti and the Vatican in 1860 led to the school being established in 1865.[3] Monsigneur Testard du Cosquer, of the Spiritans, acquired rights and devoted it as part of his ministry as an academic and religious school: a young institution in a young country.

According to Spencer St. John, the British consul in Haiti, Saint-Martial was the best school in the country.

Just four years after the first cinematograph was patented by the Lumière brothers, the Martial held the first motion picture projection in Haiti on 19 December 1899.

Father Daniel Weick, formed the first fire brigade in the country, and the first weather station was set up together with a National Museum, which opened in 1904.

On 15 August 1969 the Brothers of the Holy Ghost were accused by the government of Francois Duvalier of conniving with illegal political parties. They were expelled from Petit Séminaire College Saint-Martial and exiled. The Spiritans had no more direction over the school until 1995.

Secondary education at PSCSMS was beyond the ordinary. The institution was well equipped with archives and libraries, applied-science laboratories, and cleric-scientific staff to help pupils use their conventional knowledge to develop more practical applications, like technology and inventions.[4]

Among its foremost successful alumni is Dr. Gardy Cadet, former chairman of the Haitian American Association of Engineers and Scientists. Dr. Cadet previously worked at famous laboratories such as Lucent Technologies and Bell Labs. He holds under his belt 8 US patents and 5 European patents.[5][6]

Earthquake

On 12 January 2010, a large earthquake hit Haiti. The school was totally destroyed by it. The three buildings (kindergarten, primary, and secondary school), as well as the learning center for young seminarians and the chapel library and administrative office, were all either damaged beyond repair or completely knocked down.[7]

But though the school's buildings were hit, the students and their teachers prevailed, with lessons starting again in April 2010.

Alumni

References

  1. ↑ Petit Seminaire College St-Martial Alumni Association Abroad (2015 "PSCSM-AAA"
  2. ↑ Avlot Quessa. (2015). Haiti Observer. "PSCSMS established in 1865 by spiritans, a Roman Catholic Religious Congregation founded in 1703"
  3. ↑ Petit Seminaire College St-Martial Alumni Association Abroad (2015 "PSCSM-AAA"
  4. ↑ George A Smarthers Librairies. (1948). University of Florida Digital Collection. Search for term "disorganization" "Education in Haiti"
  5. ↑ Noe Dorestant. (1 May 1998). HaiTech. "Haitech's Noe Dorestant meets Haitian Chemical Engineer Gardy Cadet"
  6. ↑ Noe Dorestant. (29 December 1998). Haitian-American Association of Engineers and Scientists (HAES) "H.A.E.S. HONORS A HAITIAN SCIENTIST..."
  7. ↑ Madison Smartt Bell. (30 May 2010). Huffington Post. "Haiti's Libraries: History At Risk"

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