Amid the rubble left by Monday's earthquake is a damaged, headless statue of the Divine Mercy. The image is unsettling: Christ himself bearing actual marks of this earthquake’s destruction.
Could this be more than another piece of debris? Might this be a sign from Our Lord that He hides in every victim?
The call to mercy is never as strongly heard as when unexpected tragedy interrupts ordinary life. That’s what happened early Monday morning, when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Sarangani province, as children were beginning their first day of school and parents were on their way to work.
Epicenter, fatalities, and damages
Sarangani province is located along the southern coast of Mindanao, the southernmost of the Philippines' three islands. The epicenter of the quake was 32 kilometers (about 20 miles) west from the provincial capital of Maasim.
The death toll has risen to 37. Fatalities have been mostly due to falling debris. The number of those injured or displaced has risen to 77,186 people or 17,689 families.
This is the third round of deadly quakes that has hit the Philippines in the last year. The first hit Cebu on September 30, 2025, and a second wave of double quakes devastated Davao oriental on October 10, 2025. In contrast to last year's earthquakes, this week's registered higher on the Richter scale by almost 1 in magnitude. Its intensity comes close to the deadliest earthquake of the last century which happened in 1976, along the Moro Gulf.
A Caritas Philippines representative told Aleteia that many roads remain blocked. Relief operations have been struggling to reach victims because of this. The government has announced that clearing debris from roadways is their highest priority at the moment.
Sarangani province, one of the Philippines’ poorest
Villages ravaged by this deadly earthquake were already suffering from poverty. In the most devastated districts, one out of four individuals live below the poverty line ($1.25 USD per day). For these communities, recovery will mean rebuilding not from adequate resources, but from lack.
Monsignor Pedro Quitorio III, Director of the Media office of the Philippines’ bishops conference, announced that the Church’s first concern is providing aid to the poor affected by this calamity.
Mercy: a two-fold project
This earthquake reminds us of how fragile life is. It also magnifies the Church’s call to walk with every person, especially those who are suffering, because we all belong to one human family.
In a recent conversation with Elise Ann Allen, Pope Leo XIV reflected on why the Church must remain engaged in humanitarian crises. By Church, he does not only mean the clergy, but the entire People of God.
His words:
Read the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.” I think that a Church that closes its eyes to this dimension of how people are actually living is not fulfilling a large aspect of its role of what it means to preach the gospel. There are spiritual works of mercy, but there are also corporal works of mercy, to put it in a more traditional term. We cannot dedicate ourselves as Church only to the spiritual works of mercy. To be there for the sick and for the hungry, for those who are in prison, for those who are suffering in many different ways, I think the Church has to be there also.
This calamity is an opportunity for the Church in the Philippines and around the world, both clergy and laity, to live out the two-fold mercy the Holy Father prescribes here. This is a moment that calls us to respond through both prayer and generosity.
As with every tragedy, this crisis calls us to be God’s arms and feet, reaching out to every victim.
Hidden within this destruction is a call to enflesh the good news of mercy at the heart of our creed. To enflesh the mercy of Christ that seeks to heal and restore both spirit and body.
Shattered Divine Mercy Statue: our sign to pray and rebuild together
Perhaps, the damaged image of the Divine Mercy is a sign that this bitter moment is meant to inspire Filipino Catholics to rebuild together.
We hear this call loud and clear in the pastoral letter from Archbishop Garcera, president of the Philippine Bishops Conference, published today:
“In moments such as these, we are reminded that the Church is called to be a sign of hope and a witness of charity. As one family in Christ, we cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of our brothers and sisters. Their pain is our pain; their loss is our loss.”
Of course, this work must begin with prayer. Prayers offered out of solidarity with every victim. Prayers that open our hearts to God, so we see in each suffering face a brother or a sister. Prayers that beseech the safety and strength of every volunteer, healthcare worker, priest, and bishop serving on the field. Prayers that awaken in us deep, tangible wells of embodied mercy.
We lean on God so we remember that after the news cycle is over, rebuilding must continue. After cameras leave, communities will still need roofs replaced, jobs restored, and churches rebuilt. Grace gives mercy the endurance it needs.
If you feel called to send material help to the earthquake victims, you can do so through Caritas Philippines' facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18pKz9mBGG/) or the Philippine Red Cross (https://redcross.org.ph).
