Dear Editor: A friend of the Haitian refugees has passed.

In the 1980s, Father Peter W. Zendzian assisted Haitian refugees resettled by the office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees (PCMR) of USCCB and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn at the Diocesan Migration Office of Brooklyn and later at PCMR in Washington, D.C. We met at the various meetings dealing with said refugees and conventions of the Haitian Apostolate.

He was one of the Polish-Americans helping our community, along with Father Lipnicki and Father Thomas Wenski (the current Archbishop of Miami). When we met at various functions upon his return to Brooklyn, he practiced his French in greeting me warmly. He became a monsignor but kept his simplicity. But he died suddenly Oct. 23 in the rectory of St. Matthias where he was the pastor.

May the Lord receive him and reward him!

Deacon Paul C. Dorsinville

Cambria Heights