Fr. Maxwell Klug, O.F.M. Conv., who ministers at a friary in Jamaica, helps with supplies in the weeks following Hurricane Melissa. (Submitted photo)
“Beyond description challenging.”
That’s how Fr. Maxwell Klug, O.F.M. Conv., describes the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa that barreled through Jamaica Oct. 28.
“My Franciscan crown rosary has been a constant in my hand as a reminder of the Incarnation, even amidst chaos, and the short prayer ‘Deus meus et omnia’ is constantly on my lips as I drive around because even in the midst of all of this, I’m reminded that truly — ‘my God, you are my all.’”
A 2011 graduate of St. Thomas More High School, Milwaukee, Fr. Klug was ordained a Franciscan Conventual in May 2023. He taught French at St. Thomas More until the order sent him to its mission, Mary, Gate of Heaven Friary, in the Westmoreland region on the western end of Jamaica, at the end of the summer.
Though he spent a month in the small close-knit community during summer 2024, Fr. Klug had no way of knowing how integral his presence at this time would be.
The Category 5 Hurricane Melissa made landfall Oct. 28 with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, leveling trees, buildings and homes. At least 45 people died on the island. It was one of the most intense Atlantic storms in more than a century, surpassing even Hurricane Katrina.
As of Nov. 15, his community still has no running water, electricity or cell service, Fr. Klug said.
Some communities were told they will not get them back until the new year or later.
“We serve in the rural bush and hills, and even on a good day, we serve in resource-poor communities, so access to things often requires creativity, and even getting to our communities is a challenge as the roads, especially up in the hills of Westmoreland, are not great and are washed away in normal rainfall,” he said.
“All those daily struggles have now been greatly exacerbated (if not impossible). Then, taking out electricity, modes of communication and no running water from the mix makes things beyond description challenging,” Fr. Klug said.
In the meantime, he and others must make do.
“A parishioner has a generator and Starlink, and I can use it for a few minutes each day to respond to the most urgent and pressing messages,” he said. “So, even sending the simplest of messages is challenging.”
Fr. Klug is no stranger to helping people deal with traumatic experiences. A licensed clinician specializing in violent trauma, especially for children and adolescents, he has responded to mass shootings in the U.S. and served as a therapist in other devastated communities.
Still, nothing prepared him for the sheer scale of destruction and the lack of resources caused by the hurricane.
One of the most difficult challenges Fr. Klug faces is learning new skills to help the community deal with this trauma. He joked that no one taught him to use an axe, sledgehammer or chainsaw in the seminary, but now, as a parish priest, in the rural bush in the Caribbean, he has learned new skills.
“Physically learning these things in this crucible and other hurricane-related church maintenance fixes has been interesting and taxing,” he said.
Initially, the most difficult was the lack of communication and the inability to reach specific communities due to blocked roads and poor telecommunications — which Fr. Klug considered as both physical and spiritual problems.
“At the risk of coming off as too clerical, in my letter assigning me as parochial vicar to our four parishes, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Montego Bay reminded me of my role and responsibility to ‘care for the souls of these parishes and geographical areas,’” Fr. Klug said.
“This, when I first arrived, really hit me — the weight of the ‘care for souls’ is something I do not take lightly. For a good while, we were unable to contact or reach our people. It was quite distressing not to get to see or hear from the people I was charged to care for pastorally. All I could do was pray until we had road access. Once we did, we brought water, cup noodles and anointing oil, expecting the worst and doing rescues as needed, and conducting structure evaluations. Initially, we could only make it to three of our four communities because of the destruction.”
In addition to being unable to reach the community, back home his parents, Steve and Paula, were naturally concerned.
“They and my sisters were quite worried, as you can imagine, especially when the storm kept tracking west,” he said. “Luckily, I was able to find a hotel not too far from us that had a generator and Starlink. The next morning, they let us friars contact our families and others to let them know we were alive. I try my best to send messages to them whenever I am able.”
The amount of work to do on the island is nearly insurmountable. Earlier this month, following morning prayer and Mass, the friars and some parishioners delivered 180 care packages to a shelter in Petersfield, Westmoreland, one of the hardest-hit areas and just 30 minutes from the friary.
“Once we arrived, people were walking around in almost a dissociative state, with dozens of people outside the gate hoping to get into the shelter,” he said.
“There is also no more shade, as all the trees were destroyed, and the lush green island is now stripped, brown and gray,” Fr. Klug said. “After delivering humanitarian goods and praying with that community, we continued through flattened towns to meet up with the Jamaican Defense Force to collect supplies that were helicoptered in for other destroyed communities.”
The group brought aid to various areas, encountering pleas for help and prayer, with usually stalwart men reduced to tears. With no food or water, Fr. Klug and the friars need prayer, supplies and financial support for their area, which was the hardest hit on the island.
“We need anything that can help cover damaged roofs and homes as we continue to get our usual 2-3 p.m. island storms, things continue to get wet and then sit in the island heat and humidity,” he said. “So, building supplies (especially zinc and zinc nails), chainsaws and industrial tarps are scarce and greatly needed out west in the island, but are not making their way here. Then, of course, as the supply chain is weakening, the necessities of food and water are essential, and clean clothes and underwear.”
In addition to prayer, Fr. Klug asks that Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholics not forget the Jamaican people after this news cycle concludes, as there will be years of rebuilding and a humanitarian crisis in the coming months.
“Please remember us here, especially those who lost everything. Lastly, please support us, friars, through prayers and donations. All the physical donations we get leave our friary within 24 hours to the communities and people in need, and we keep nothing for ourselves,” he said. “Likewise, any financial donations to us go directly to the people. This allows us to buy things quickly as they become available and get the items and food to the communities in need, and keep our soup kitchen running, which is now pumping out 400 meals seven days a week.”
Follow the ministry on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MaryGateOfHeavenChurchNegrilJamaica
How You Can Help
Donate to the friars through the button at mghcatholic.org. See options in the Jamica Fund Designation field for “Jamaica – Hurricane Melissa” or “Jamaica – Bread for the Poor.” The Bread for the Poor designation allows the friars to use funds at their discretion — which at this point is all disaster relief and humanitarian concerns, Fr. Maxwell Klug said.
