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The Archdiocese of Valencia shared that, thanks to the collaboration of parishes and volunteers, the parish of Our Lady of Grace (La Torre) and the parish of Mary Mother of the Church (Catarroja) were able to celebrate Sunday Mass, even in the midst of the catastrophic effects of flooding that struck Valencia, Spain, on October 29, 2024.
José Vicente Alberola, pastor of Mary Mother of the Church, commented that “both parishes were able to celebrate the Eucharist on Sunday, in which the volunteers participated, thanks to the vestments brought from (other) parishes” because everything at their own church was lost. As the cleanup of the church was still underway, he celebrated the Eucharist outside, where there was still mud and debris.
Material and spiritual help
Both parishes have become centers of material and spiritual help. The city council and national emergency protection forces, as well as volunteers (most of them young people), have joined in the cleaning and logistics work and have coordinated the necessary activities to offer all the help possible.
Before receiving and coordinating the delivery of food and basic necessities, it was necessary to clean the buildings, which was coordinated by different parishes.
“When people come for food, they also take the opportunity to pray,” explains the parish priest in the information released by the Archdiocese.
At Our Lady of Grace, the faithful have organized themselves along with members of the Emmaus and Effetá groups and other volunteers who have come on foot from Valencia.
In addition to these volunteers, there are businesses and neighbors who have organized themselves to prepare and distribute food for all the volunteers who came to help, not only in the parishes, but also in the surrounding houses.
Ongoing assistance
Although different parishes are working to alleviate the most pressing needs, such as medication for the sick and special care for the elderly, there are families who lost absolutely everything.
For this reason, Fr. Francisco Furió, parish priest of Aldaia, reminds us that help will be needed for a long time to come. Consequently, he asks for solidarity and collaboration while those affected replace their basic belongings and sources of work.
“We appreciate the signs of solidarity of the people who are supplying us with food and clothing, now so necessary. But we must be aware that the problem will come when people who have lost everything have to buy the essentials to live.”
Christ covered in mud
In this context, a statue of Christ has become a powerful symbol of Christ’s presence during the recovery from the floods.
“His image, with his face full of mud, reminds us of the more than one hundred dead in Paiporta, and the still unquantifiable number of missing people and their families,” said Fr. Gustavo Riveiro, parish priest of San Jorge Parish.
The crucifix is covered in the same mud that buried the hundreds of victims of this unprecedented natural catastrophe in Spain.
This sculpture has spontaneously become the symbol of all those lives swept away by the insane flood waters. Fr. Riveiro himself pulled the image from the mud. Paiporta, where his parish is located, is one of the towns most affected by the floods that devastated the Valencian Community on the night of October 29. It is the place where the most people died.
The photo was taken by Aguilera Juan, who posted it on X next to a verse from the Gospel of St. Matthew, very evocative of this tragedy: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20).
According to the latest figures, at least 217 people have lost their lives in these terrible floods. Now with Barcelona's coastline under red alert on Monday, Nov. 4, due to torrential rains, authorities feared that the already high death toll would continue to rise
