Hundreds attend Haiti vigil

Forty-eight hours after a massive earthquake struck Haiti, several hundred members of the Princeton community attended a solemn candlelight vigil for Haiti Jan. 14 in the University Chapel. In the face of "suffering and loss beyond comprehension," Dean of Religious Life Alison Boden said, the gathering prayed for "safety, solace, rescue, and restoration" and to "kindle the flames of hope that no catastrophe can extinguish."

Julus Charles, a native of Haiti who works as a sous chef for Princeton's Dining Services, expressed gratitude for support from the University and for U.S. relief efforts. "We are a deeply spiritual people in Haiti," Charles said. "We are going to survive this ... and be a stronger nation." Dining Services has more than 50 employees with families in Haiti, he said. The University said in a statement that no currently enrolled students were in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. By W. Raymond Ollwerther ’71