Bishop of Jérémie
Gontran Décoste, S.J., was born on April 24, 1957, in Saint Jean du Sud, in the Diocese of Les Cayes. He completed his secondary education at the Minor Seminary in Mazenod and subsequently at the Collège Saint Jean in Les Cayes. In 1978, he entered the "Notre-Dame d’Haïti" Major Seminary in Port-au-Prince, where he pursued philosophical and theological studies. He was ordained a priest on July 1, 1984, for the Diocese of Les Cayes. In 1998, he entered the Society of Jesus and completed his novitiate in Montreal (Canada). He obtained a Master of Science in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola College in Maryland (USA) and finished his formation at the Jesuit novitiate in Haiti and in Lyon (France). Following his priestly ordination, from 1984 to 1989, he held the following positions: Chaplain of the Immaculée Conception Hospital in Les Cayes, Professor of Haitian Literature at the Collège Saint Jean in Les Cayes, Chaplain to the Salesian Sisters' community in Les Cayes, and Director of the diocesan radio station "Men Kontre." From 1989 to 1993, he earned a Doctorate in Spiritual Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. Upon returning to Haiti, from 1993 to 1998, he served as Spiritual Director at the "Notre-Dame d’Haïti" Major Seminary in Port-au-Prince, Professor of Spiritual Theology at the same seminary, and Secretary of the Episcopal Conference. Since 2005, he has been a Professor of Spiritual Theology at the Notre-Dame d’Haïti Major Seminary, the Centre Inter-Instituts de Formation Religieuse, and the Office of Catechesis of the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince.