Monday, January 03, 2005
MARIAN SHRINE SPARED IN MIDST OF TIDAL WAVE
There seems to be no logical explanation why the flood waters stopped at the gates of the shrine of Our Lady of Good Health. It is being called a miracle.
From Catholic News Service:
"The Holy Mother has worked wonders despite the tragedy here," said Father Lionel.
In a Dec. 29 statement, basilica officials noted that about 2,000 pilgrims attending Mass were "miraculously saved" when the surging waves stopped at the gates of the shrine compound.
The waves -- which rose as high as 40 feet -- hit hotels and houses on the same elevation just 330 feet from the shrine.
Bishop Mariadoss noted that the local bus stop on the same elevation as the basilica was farther from the beach, but it was inundated.
"It was a miracle that the water did not enter the church," reiterated Sebastian Kannappilly, a businessman from neighboring Kerala state, who had come to Vailankanni with his wife and daughter. Although his family was at Mass and was spared, his driver perished in the disaster.
This story is reminiscent of the story of the 8 Jesuits, supposedly unharmed in the midst of the destruction, who were saying the rosary when the Hiroshima bomb was dropped.
BBC News also reports the miraculous escape of the church and has a picture of it on the website.
Meanwhile another strong earthquake struck Sumatra on Saturday afternoon:
An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck under the sea off Indonesia's Sumatra Islands on Saturday afternoon, the State Seismological Bureau of China said here.
