An Unsung Hero: Bernard “Bingo” Philo-Jacques

In past blogs, I have focused a lot of attention on mission leaders. But I would be remiss if I didn’t take the time to call out the unsung heroes I meet in my travels – the dedicated servants of Christ who you don’t often hear about, but who are known and loved by all – especially by the poor.

One individual I’d like to honor is Bernard Philo-Jacques, known by everyone at the Kobonal Haiti Mission simply as Bingo. This incredible man of God got his nickname from Father Meaux himself. The way Father explains it, when he needs a task to be done, there is one man he can rely on. “Bingo!” he says. “It is done!” The name stuck.

Whenever I visit Kobonal, it is such a pleasure to work with Bingo. He knows every detail about every Mission project. He also has this uncanny ability of remembering the name of every villager who lives in the Kobonal area. As Fr. Meaux has observed, he gets things done as quickly as you can snap your fingers. “Bingo!” he says. “It is done!”