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A tremendous tragedy has struck a Catholic girls’ school in Madrid, Spain, but the faith-filled response of those most affected has left everyone in awe.
On Thursday at the Montealto school, a parent who was in the process of parking her minivan accidentally struck three of the students: girls ages 12, 10 and 5.
The older two are in critical condition, but the youngest did not survive. Her mother reached her side before the child died, with enough time to embrace her and tell her she loved her.
Other students had immediately run for the chaplain of the school, who arrived in time to give the little one the Last Anointing.
Then, as the child was already on her journey to God, the mother reached to embrace and console the parent who had been driving the vehicle.
The tragedy occurred at the end of the school day, with dozens of students and parents witnessing. Montealto is a school linked to the chaplaincy provided by Opus Dei.
The reaction of those in the vicinity was of course immediate - some offering first aid and CPR, others calling for ambulances, some even running to a nearby hospital to entreat the help of ER doctors.
Parents have shared their admiration at the mother’s reaction. The other mom, the driver, faces her own devastation.
A Rosary chain began right away, with school families and others across Madrid praying for the victims, the families, and also the driver. The cardinal archbishop of Madrid offered his own condolences.
Friday was a day of prayer at the school, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed. Students say they are taking the tragedy united, as a family, of faith and in prayer.
“All that we can do is pray,” the school community has told the journalists who’ve arrived to the scene.
