Spain has suffered what is considered the third worst natural disaster in the country's recent history. / Credit: Courtesy of Caritas Spain
Madrid, Spain, Oct 30, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).
Torrential rains have inundated southern and eastern Spain, leaving at least 66 people dead. In response, the Catholic Church has expressed its pain and condolences over the tragedy and Caritas has launched a special campaign.
The flash flooding is considered the third largest natural disaster in Spain's contemporary history, which has primarily hit the territories of the Archdiocese of Valencia and the Dioceses of Cuenca and Albacete.
Only the 1996 flood in the town of Biescas in the Pyrenees, with 89 deaths, and the 1957 flooding of the Turia River, in which between an estimated 80 and 100 lives were lost, exceed the death toll confirmed to date.
The archbishop of Valencia, Enrique Benavent, celebrated a Eucharist on Wednesday morning in the Basilica of the Our Lady of the Abandoned, the city's patroness. During the homily, the prelate pointed out that "those most affected are those we must keep closest to our hearts, just as those who suffer the most are those who are closest to a mother's heart."
Benavent also asked "everyone to pray before the Blessed Virgin Mary, first of all, for those who have lost their lives in this great tragedy" and asked that their families and all those who have been affected be remembered.
Hundreds of people were forced to sleep outdoors after being caught in the great torrents of water while traveling in their private vehicles yesterday afternoon. The homes of many others were flooded and their vehicles swept away in the midst of a powerful storm that at times was like a hurricane.
The Archdiocese of Valencia, which had made its facilities and resources available to citizens on Tuesday afternoon, found it was unable to meet all the needs it wanted to.
"The parishes have also been affected, but to the extent of our possibilities we must keep in mind all those who suffer, that they feel in us a helping hand, a brotherly hand, who knows how to feel compassion for them and who knows how to be attentive to their needs," Benavent explained.
Regarding those who have temporarily been left without a roof over their heads, the archbishop expressed his hope that "they may find in the Church, in Christians, a helping hand from brothers and a helping hand from friends. In this way we will also show that we are children of the Virgin of the Abandoned."
Caritas Spain mobilizes emergency campaign
Area diocesan Caritas have contacted the Archdiocese of Valencia to offer their services, as confirmed to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, by Marisa Villaroig, head of Caritas in the Diocese of Segorbe-Castellón.
"We have put ourselves at their disposal. We are waiting for the damage to be assessed" to determine the specific needs, she indicated.
"We are a little heavy hearted," confessed Villaroig, who said she is personally going to take in some people from Valencia in her home.
Caritas Spain has announced the launch of a campaign to respond to the emergency situation in which the Valencia and Albacete branches, present in the hardest-hit areas, have a special role, despite the fact that they have also been affected.
Condolences and support from different dioceses
Since early in the morning, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and dioceses have publicly expressed their sorrow for the lost lives, their dismay over the material disasters and their readiness to work on material and spiritual recovery.
The archbishop of Valladolid and president of the Spanish Bishops' Conference, Luis Argüello, expressed on X his concern and invoked the Virgin of the Abandoned to "comfort and support everyone" and promised help from the conference.
Both Argüello and the conference's secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, have written letters to the archbishop of Valencia and the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Albacete, Monsignor Julián Ros, to express "their pain and closeness."
The archbishop of Barcelona, ??Cardinal Juan José Omella, said he was "shocked by the tragic images coming to us from Valencia and Albacete" and pledged his prayers "for the victims, their families, and all those affected."
"Experiences like this remind us of the fragility of our human condition and open us to the hope of eternal life in heaven," the cardinal said.
The archbishop of Granada, José María Gil Tamayo, also expressed his condolences, as did the archbishop of Seville, José Ángel Saiz Meneses.
The bishop of León, Luis Ángel de las Heras, and the bishop of Getafe, Ginés García, among others, also expressed their condolences.
On an institutional level, the Dioceses of Vitoria, Ávila and Mondoñedo-Ferrol, as well as the Archdiocese of Madrid, have also expressed their grief.
The Spanish government has declared three days of official mourning for the tragedy.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
