BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--Holy Trinity Church in Peachtree City is the first assignment for Father Guyma Noel of Hinche, Haiti.

After moving to the U.S. 10 years ago at the age of 23, Father Noel earned a bachelor's degree from St. John's University in Queens, N. Y., where he studied social work and philosophy. He lived in Mexico for a year, where he studied Spanish and the Latin American culture, and attended Catholic Theological Union in Chicago for one year.

After meeting Msgr. Don Kenny, archdiocesan vocations director, he entered St. Vincent's Seminary in Latrobe, Pa., graduating in 1997 with a master's degree in divinity, and now at the age of 33 prepares to minister in Atlanta.

Father Noel, like others, heard a small whisper of a calling to ministry in his youth. He was active in his church youth group in Hinche and participated in the liturgy every Sunday. He also says the political instability of Haiti motivated him spiritually, and his family supported and encouraged him in his Catholic faith.

He has a talent for languages, speaking French, Creole, English and Spanish, an adventurous spirit, and the desire to work with diverse ethnic groups. After finishing high school he says he joined a community which worked with immigrants and refugees. With them, he decided to leave Haiti and come to the U.S.

"I know what it means to be from another country and be here," Father Noel said. "I try to make my presence as useful as I can" for others who are immigrants or refugees. He often counsels and translates for those unable to speak English, accompanying them to court or the hospital, and tries to ensure they are treated justly and without discrimination.

Father Noel said he is eager to begin ministering at Holy Trinity. "It's something different than being in the world of books. Now I'm in the real world," he said. Father Noel's mother, Marie Angelique, his brother and two sisters in Haiti were unable to attend the ordination Mass, but other cousins and friends from the New Jersey area attended.

His first Mass was celebrated at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Decatur June 7 because of the consistently warm hospitality and welcoming spirit this congregation has shown him.