Pastor Amel Lafleur has died in Canada, according to one of his children

Pastor Amel Lafleur died on Friday, November 13, in Canada, host Thériel Thélus announced, saying he heard the news from one of the pastor's children. His last moments were reportedly difficult. Neither his church nor his family has issued a statement yet, and the circumstances of his death are not known.

Amel Lafleur was a well-known figure in Haiti's evangelical world, but also one of its most controversial pastors. In 2023, the state banned him from preaching for five years.

Leader of the Narrow Gate

Born on July 3, 1961, into a peasant family of nine children, Amel Lafleur lost his father in May 1981 in Mapou, in the South-East, while he was in ninth grade. He studied at Collège Étiote Pierre and then Collège Alpha in Port-au-Prince, and trained in accounting.

Converted in the late 1970s, he trained for about four years with the association "Les Colporteurs du Dernier Message." He was ordained a preacher by Élisée Joseph of the Église de Dieu de Poste-Marchand, whom he called his "spiritual father." He claimed more than 35 years of ministry.

He led the Église de Dieu indépendante de la Porte étroite (Independent Church of God of the Narrow Gate) in Delmas 33, and described himself as an apostle of the Gospel, theologian, writer, psychologist and family counselor. He also ran an evangelical channel, TEFROREV ("the TV without borders of the evangelical network"). According to his daughter, he had six children.

A prolific author

Amel Lafleur published several Christian books, including "Que le mariage soit honoré de tous" (1996), his most-read work, now in its third edition, "Quelques réalités de la foi chrétienne" (2003), "La Discipline ministérielle" (2015) and "Les Faiblesses et les Forces de l'Éternel." Marriage and married life were at the heart of his preaching.

A divisive pastor

Long before 2023, his remarks stirred controversy. In 2022, he publicly criticized pastor Lochard Rémy, just freed by his kidnappers, for praying for a former member of the 400 Mawozo gang, according to Boukan News. Other pastors, such as Makenson Dorilas, in turn criticized his style and dress.

The January 2023 video

In early January 2023, a video that went viral showed him during a session presented as "sex training" for married couples at his church. In it, he makes sexual gestures with his daughter. The images caused widespread outrage, and a petition called for his license to operate to be withdrawn.

On January 3, in tears and with his daughter beside him, he apologized on the radio. "I want to help, not to disturb," he said, explaining that he wanted to better train the couples in his church.

Banned from preaching until 2028

Port-au-Prince prosecutors summoned him for public indecency and disturbing public order, and barred him from leaving the country. On January 5, 2023, the Ministry of Religious Affairs banned him from all pastoral work for five years, until January 2028, citing a 1978 decree.

After his hearing on January 10, government commissioner Jacques Lafontant sent the case to the criminal court. We found no public record of a verdict.

An older accusation

At the time, several outlets also reported an older rape accusation against the pastor, made by a former member of his church. We found no public response from him to that accusation, and no conviction has been made public.