With Nicolas de Cárdenas

Madrid, Spain, 5 November 2024 / 15:15

“We did not die because a neighbor came looking for his mother (and warned us) while we were worshiping the Blessed Sacrament,” Father Gustavo Riveira, pastor of the Parish of St. George Martyrs in Paiporta, in the Spanish province of Valencia, said this week. ACI Prensa is CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. The town of Paiporta is considered “ground zero” of the tragedy. Recent floods in Spain.

By 6pm on October 29, 40 to 50 people had prayed the rosary, and half an hour later, the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament had begun, as they were warned of impending floods.

“We didn’t die just because a neighbor came looking for his mother. “If he hadn’t done it, we wouldn’t have lived to tell the story,” emphasized the Argentinian priest, criticizing the citizens not being informed in advance: “Nobody warned us about anything.”

The neighborhood was flooded, but according to the priest’s statement, approximately 60 young people managed to drain the remaining water with buckets after the flood receded.

Riveira described the Dantesque scene, where streets and houses were still filled with mud, wrecked cars were piled on top of each other, and belongings destroyed by the flowing water.

“We have mud mountains and reed beds. People took furniture outside to clean their homes. “There is tremendous destruction that goes far beyond mud and mud,” he explained.

A few days after the flood, he said, at least there was no longer a shortage of food and water, but the Caritas neighborhood could not resume normal activities. “We had to throw away everything we had because everything was covered in mud. “We had nothing left.”

They were unable to properly store the aid they received, thanks to the generosity of thousands of Spaniards, because Caritas’ facilities had not yet been cleaned.

So what works is what the priest calls “chest-to-hand solidarity,” which is not structured that way, but reflects the extraordinary work done in many cases by parishioners who lost everything in the flood.

“They showed great solidarity that was truly exemplary. People came to the fore like we’ve never seen before. “This is beautiful and heart-opening,” Riveira commented.

Looking to the future, the priest stated that tranquility must be restored: “We must remain calm in order to start over. The law of life is to always start over. Woe to us the day we stop starting over and look to the future with hope.”

this story first published By ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. Translated and adapted by CNA.

Nicolás de Cárdenas has been ACI Prensa’s Spain correspondent since July 2022. In his journalism career, he specialized in socio-religious issues and also worked in local and international civic associations.