Virginia-based firm Kern Group Architects have been selected to design the new Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after it was destroyed in the January 2010 earthquake. The replacement building will offer larger, more flexible areas for worship and will act as a place of refuge should a similar natural disaster strike in the future. The original Holy Trinity Cathedral had 14 painted murals, three of which were saved from the wreckage and will be relocated inside the new Kern Group Architects-designed building.

Speaking on the decision, Bishop Jean Zache Duracin said: “Faced with the enormity of rebuilding most of its churches, schools and other structures throughout the earthquake ravaged region, the Diocese of Haiti decided to concentrate its initial efforts on rebuilding Holy Trinity Cathedral as a prominent landmark of God’s abiding presence with the Haitian people and the church’s commitment to serve them. The new cathedral will be a beacon of hope to all who suffer.”