For years, as he celebrated Mass at St. James Catholic Church in North Miami or tended to the special needs of his Haitian-American congregants, Father Patrick Charles envisioned a newspaper that would chronicle the important ecclesiastical events for the Creole-speaking faithful.

Finally, this spring his vision became a reality. At a time when print media is struggling to adapt to the digital age and the Spanish-language paper for the Archdiocese of Miami is reorganizing, Vwa Katolick (Catholic Voice) is thriving. The eight-page paper -- more like a bulletin actually -- has printed monthly on glossy paper in full color since March.

While its circulation of 2,100 spread around 10 South Florida parishes is not large, the fact that it exists is testament to the growing clout -- and faith -- of Haitian Catholics here.

''It says we're here and we're here to stay and you have to take us into account,'' says Charles. ``We have, in a sense, arrived.''

Vwa Katolick joins a two-hour Sunday evening Creole-language radio show produced by the archdiocese on Haitian radio 1040 AM. Launched in the mid-1990s, Radio Ke Poze broadcasts Sunday mass for its first hour, followed by special programming on church and social affairs. The newspaper, says Father Albert Cutie, president and general director of Pax Catholic Communication, will be the perfect complement.

''We have to reach our community in as many ways as it is possible,'' Cutie adds. ``It tells people you're not alone. We're here to pray for you, but also to help you in this time of need.''

The Haitian Catholic community has been growing steadily since 1978, when the first bilingual Mass incorporating Creole and French was celebrated in Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Miami, says Father Reginald Jean-Mary, administrator of Notre Dame D'Haiti Catholic Church. About 50 people attended. The mission eventually moved to St. Mary's Cathedral.

BIG COMMUNITY

Today, Jean-Mary estimates the archdiocese has between 60,000 and 80,000 church-going Haitians and more than a dozen parishes offering Creole-language masses. Sixteen Haitian priests, including nine ordained locally, serve the community.

Vwa Katolick is actually trilingual. Some articles are written in Creole, others in French and a select few in English. Some Haitian-Americans prefer to read in French because they learned that language in school, while Creole, spoken throughout Haiti, has had an official written alphabet for only a few years. The English articles are aimed young people who have grown up in South Florida but may still be interested in news tailored to their ethnic group.

The goal of Vwa Katolick is ''to evangelize and to bring people closer to the church using all means possible,'' Charles adds. Along the way, the newspaper also hopes to address special concerns of the community, from immigration issues to social acculturation into a new country.

Topics vary from the spiritual to the mundane, from local news to news from Haiti. There's even some poetry. The April issue, for instance, featured a piece on the 25th anniversary of the Divine Mercy Mission in Fort Lauderdale and a story about the rising food prices in Haiti. The next issue, Charles said, will deal with diabetes, a health concern in the black community.

''Though the church is universal,'' Charles explains, ``it's also very local. We are trying to bring that local touch to the community.''

The paper is written mainly by volunteers, who also take pictures and deliver the newspaper to their churches.

Contributor France-Martine Alcena, a member of St. Bartholomew in Miramar, says Vwa Katolik is ''long overdue and it has been needed for some time. It gives Haitians a voice'' and a sense of unity, though they may be spread throughout the three counties in the archdiocese.

''Most of the news coming out for the Haitian community is in English, but many don't speak or read English or they are not comfortable with it,'' she says. ``This helps them keep informed about what's going on in the church.''

HELPING HANDS

Some community leaders have also helped. Ernst Jean-Louis, owner of the Kiskeya Herald, a Haitian community newspaper, donates his time to help with layout and pagination. Professional photographer Ernst Motoban also covers stories for free.

Vwa Katolik is not the archdiocese's first Creole-language publication. In the late 1980s, a Creole newspaper was published out of Notre Dame d'Haiti, but money and distribution proved to be a problem. Today it costs about $1,000 to print and deliver each issue of the current newspaper. The first issues have been underwritten by Pax Catholic Communications Inc. Charles hopes advertising from the Haitian business community will eventually offset the costs.

''We have faith that we can do this,'' Charles adds. ``But it does require some changes. In Haiti, priests receive money from the exterior. Here we have to receive it from the parishioners. The community has to understand that.''

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