Msgr. Carl Sansaricq

Msgr. Carl Sansaricq, a Haitian-born priest who served his countrymen in the archdiocese for nearly 40 years, died Oct. 21 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. He was 81. He had served as a parochial vicar at St. Joseph's, Spring Valley, since 1988, remaining there even after his official retirement in 1999. Before that, he was a parochial vicar at Holy Trinity, Manhattan, for 20 years. Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq of the Brooklyn Diocese, his brother, was to offer the Funeral Mass at St. Joseph's Church on Oct. 26. Msgr. Sansaricq was "loved everywhere he went," his brother said. "He was a very cultured man. He read a lot, was extremely well informed, and he loved music. But he was a man of reconciliation, always very quietly bringing people together," the bishop told CNY. "And he was very faithful to his prayers," he said. "Even in his hospital bed, he was always seen reading his Office." Msgr. Sansaricq, who was ordained in 1950, was born in Jeremie, Haiti, and served as a priest in that country for 18 years before coming to the United States in 1968. "He was accepted at Holy Trinity parish...working mostly as coordinator for the Haitian apostolate in the parish, but also ministering to the larger community," Bishop Sansaricq said, adding that "he also served as organist. He was a great organist." Msgr. Sansaricq was incardinated into the archdiocese in 1989 and was made a monsignor in 1999. He studied at the Grand Seminary of Notre Dame in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is survived by two other brothers, Claude and Alix, and two sisters, Adeline Merceron and Sister Lucille of the Daughters of Wisdom. Burial was to be private.