LINDEN, N.J. (RNS) Most of the aid sent to Haiti since the Jan. 12 earthquake is meant to nourish the bodies of survivors. An unusual donation spearheaded by one Catholic priest now hopes to nourish their spirits.

The Rev. Benedict Worry of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church is collecting church supplies — chalices, candlesticks, crucifixes and vestments — for the shattered Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince after the 7.0 earthquake killed the local archbishop, destroyed 15 parishes and seriously damaged another 27.

The donation, apparently the first of its kind since the quake, is meant to help the nation’s priests celebrate Mass after many lost their liturgical supplies in the large-scale destruction.

Shortly after the quake, Worry said he was watching a news broadcast in his rectory when he saw a Haitian priest being interviewed in a T-shirt, baseball cap and khakis. The priest told the reporter that his church had been destroyed, along with his priestly garb and supplies, and he had no idea where he would celebrate Mass.

“I thought, what would I do in that case, if I had to say Mass that Sunday in Port-au-Prince?” Worry recalled. “I knew that in my church alone, I’m sitting on at least six chalices I can get rid of.”

Worry contacted officials at the Archdiocese of Newark with the idea. Shortly afterward, Newark Archbishop John J. Myers sent a letter to all his requesting donations of unused church supplies. Parishes from neighboring dioceses also were invited.

Most of the donations were themselves donated to parishes years and even decades ago by families commemorating special occasions.

“I am sure that those who have donated these vessels will be pleased,” Myers wrote in his letter, “that they are being used to provide a dignified celebration of the Eucharist by those who literally have nothing.”

So far, 12 parishes have donated supplies worth more than $200,000, and another 10 also are expected to contribute, Worry said.

In addition, a large quantity of food collected by Haitian Protestant ministers in the area will be shipped along with the church supplies. A friend of Worry’s is donating more than $5,000 in shipping costs.

Worry said he hopes the donations can arrive in time for Easter. The supplies are laid out on a table in St. Elizabeth’s basement — approximately three dozen gleaming chalices, five sets of candlesticks and four crucifixes.

Nearly 200 sets of vestments sat in boxes.

In a brief e-mail interview, the papal nuncio to Haiti, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, said the Newark Archdiocese was the first to offer this kind of donation. The Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., made a similar offer two weeks ago, he said.

“The initiative of Fr. Benedict is certainly laudable,” Auza wrote. “We hope that the priests of the damaged parish churches in Port-au-Prince could have them as soon as possible.”

(Jeff Diamant writes for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.)