“While working in a home for the elderly during my Jesuit formation, I learned how to help others put words on their human and spiritual experience and give meaning to their lives. I experienced in a concrete way the meaning and spiritual depth of such words as service, availability, the magis, being a contemplative in action, humility and accompaniment.”
Will continue pursuing graduate studies in theology at the Facultés Loyola Paris.
Rivelt Silnéus, SJ, was born in 1990 in Camp-Perrin, Haiti, where he grew up as the youngest in a Catholic family of six children. His family passed on the faith to him and instilled in him a love of the church, to which he would later commit himself.
He was educated by the Brothers of Christian Instruction and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Through his involvement in his hometown parish, he discovered his vocation to the religious life and the priesthood. Rivelt first heard about the Jesuits during his studies learning about the famous quarrel between the Jesuits and the Jansenists. From then on, he sought to learn about the Society of Jesus, before beginning a long process of discernment with Fr. Godefroy Midy, SJ. For two years, Rivelt volunteered with the Haitian Red Cross in the south of Haiti. He had worked previously in the same organization in the fight against cholera in rural areas.
Rivelt entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus in 2013. After two years of spiritual formation, he professed his first vows in 2015 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Following his novitiate, he was sent to the Dominican Republic in August 2015, where he studied philosophy and social sciences at the Instituto Superior Pedro Francisco Bonó. During this period of his formation, he also worked in vocational pastoral care and accompanied Haitian migrants.
In July 2019, Rivelt completed his studies and returned to Port-au-Prince for his regency. From 2019 to 2021, he served as novitiate minister. He also taught Spanish and philosophy at Collège Saint-Ignace de Loyola in Croix-des-Bouquets. After his regency, he was sent to Paris in the fall of 2021 to begin his theology studies at the Facultés Loyola Paris. In the summer of 2023, he traveled to Serverette, France, for the Arrupe Month, a program of reflection and formation in preparation for ordination. Rivelt is currently pursuing graduate studies in theology at the Facultés Loyola Paris, which he will continue after ordination, and he is also an accompanier in MEJ (Eucharistic Youth Movement) in France.
Bachelor’s degree, philosophy, Instituto Superior Pedro Francisco Bonó; Bachelor’s degree, theology, Facultés Loyola Paris
The three words a friend uses to describe me are patience, availability and respect. It’s very fascinating to hear this coming from someone so close to me.
St. Francis Xavier because, for me, he is an inspiring Jesuit, a man of great piety and prayer, able to easily lead others to God. In addition, his apostolic zeal and total self-giving are compelling. Francis Xavier represents an important model for today’s church and for every religious, given that our world has become more and more a land of mission.
Following the 30-day retreat during the novitiate, I was sent to Fondation Kkottongnae de Jésus, a home for the elderly in Croix-des-Bouquets, west of Port-au-Prince, to do my hospital experiment. I found myself in the midst of a variety of people, some with reduced mobility, others struggling with illness and old age, and finally, those thirsting for a spiritual experience and to be listened to.
This experience led me to appreciate what these people were going through at the end of their lives. It also allowed me to understand what it means to be an outstretched hand for those who are suffering and abandoned and to be the ear that listens and enables them to share and give meaning to their life story. As a result, I learned how to help others put words on their human and spiritual experience and give meaning to their lives. I experienced in a concrete way the meaning and spiritual depth of such words as service, availability, the magis, being a contemplative in action, humility, patience, charity, leading others to God, passion, grace, accompaniment, reconciliation, desire and so on.
Finally, I had a personal experience of the other and could better understand the challenges of the encounter. I was marked by the practice of what constitutes the heart of Jesuit life: the constant to-and-fro between prayer and apostolic work. This experience, lived from the outside, ultimately led me to the deepest part of myself, to the mystery of intimacy, and opened me to the universal.
The mentor who has had the greatest impact on me during my journey in the Society of Jesus is Fr. Godefroy Midy, SJ. For me, he is one of the most remarkable mentors in terms of his ability to listen, his kindness, his sincerity and his spiritual depth. He was able to help me get to know myself better and guide me in my process of discernment and formation in the Society. Through stories of his life experience and his way of being, he taught me what it means to be a priest and a companion.
