Father James Bromwich reported in an e-mail to The Record this week that his experiences serving in disaster relief in Haiti have been “rewarding, heartbreaking and spiritually uplifting.”

Father Bromwich, a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville and a registered nurse, traveled to Haiti last week after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake caused massive destruction and loss of life in the impoverished Caribbean island nation. The priest and a medical team he traveled with are stationed at a hospital about 70 miles north of the capital of Port-au-Prince.

Soon after he arrived, Father Bromwich sent a message to his parishes that painted a grim picture of the work that lay ahead.

He wrote in a brief e-mail, “Within two minutes of arrival, our team encountered incoming wounded via U.S. Coast Guard helicopters. Lots of wounded, especially amputations, crush injuries, etc. Children losing their limbs. There will be much-needed future recovery. There is much death, as well. Three people died yesterday and one last night. We have some of the top doctors and nurses in the country here. I have to go.”

Father Bromwich is pastor of three parishes in Central Kentucky — Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Campbellsville, Our Lady of the Hills in Finley and Our Lady of Fatima in Phillipsburg.

His subsequent e-mail, sent Jan. 25, noted that up to 11 helicopters a day were ferrying injured people to Sacred Heart Hospital in the town of Milot, where he is working with survivors and their families — both as a priest and a nurse. The work is fast-paced and demanding.

One night, he said, “at 10 p.m. — when those of us working triage/emergency were exhausted — a chopper with wounded arrived.”

Father Bromwich also noted how personal his work has become as he ministers to grieving families.

“At this very moment I am working with a married couple whose baby just died,” he said in his latest e-mail. “The baby had injuries from the quake and tetanus. We cared for her here but had to fly her to the USNS Comfort (a Navy hospital ship) for more advanced care.

“She died, and we just informed her parents,” he wrote.

The baby and her family were in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake struck.

“They waited in line for five days for treatment for their baby, only to be sent away with a bandage,” Father Bromwich wrote. “She was very serious by the time we received her. This family (of four now) lost their small home in the earthquake. It is now rubble. They now sleep in the yard next to the house. I have been with them all afternoon.”

While his work with injured people takes up much of his time, Father Bromwich also is ministering to the relief workers and hospital staff, he said. He has been celebrating daily Masses and holy hours for them.

“On a more upbeat note,” he wrote, “this morning I visited the staff and pediatrics at the hospital to distribute rosaries, medals and scapulars,” which Father Bromwich brought with him from Kentucky. “Were they ever happy! It was like I was handing out diamonds (in a way, I was).”

Also, he said, “The children each received a holy card with a beautiful picture of Jesus or Mary. It was mostly grins this morning! It is not just the item, it is the idea that someone cares enough to give them a holy object. A good lesson.”

Father Bromwich expects to remain in Haiti until next Wednesday, Feb. 3. At the end of his e-mail, he wrote, “Thanks to everyone back home for prayers for our Haitian brothers and sisters and for the disaster relief teams. Peace in Christ.”