Weekend of saints, deceased, prayer for Valencia, and love of God "Thanks to Caritas, I not only have a home, but a family."Caritas supports 2.5 million people and social exclusion is on the riseMore than twenty diocesan priests carry out their pastoral work in the areas most affected by the tragedy. From their parish centers, sometimes converted into logistic centers for food and materials, they try to alleviate the basic needs of their populations. As is well known, the aid is taking a long time to arrive and there is still a great deal of reconstruction and accompaniment work to be done. In addition to the direct aid that thousands of volunteers have sent during this long weekend, in many Spanish parishes the collections of this Sunday were destined to Caritas of Valencia. The bizum created by this entity (38026) can be a simple and safe way to collaborate.
The episcopal delegate of Caritas Española, Luis Miguel Rojo, pointed out in Alfa y Omega that "many of our volunteers have been affected, they have lost their homes or worse, their relatives or friends. Our volunteers are part of the social fabric: they were there before, they are there now and they will continue to be there when we hardly remember what has happened".
Viral images
The priest Gustavo Riveiro, shows a recovered image of the recumbent Christ of the parish of San Jorge: "his image with the face full of mud reminds us of the more than one hundred dead in Paiporta, the number of missing people still unquantifiable, and their families, which is the real tragedy, that of the people who have lost their lives. Everything else will be recovered when possible, and if possible...".
Another image that has gone around the world shows the priest Federico Ferrando with a nun and some volunteers in the town of Paiporta.
A parish, a campaign center
The parish of Our Lady of Grace in La Torre, whose photo heads this article, has become the center for the collection of food and basic necessities. It is the living image of the Church as a field hospital. Together with the collaboration of the City Council and Civil Protection, it coordinates more than 200 volunteers who daily carry out this logistic center that attends to the primary needs of the population.
The Archbishop of Valencia, Enrique Benavent, has visited the parish and the main towns destroyed to accompany those affected and show his closeness and support. The Diocese of Valencia is grateful for the expressions of solidarity that are constantly arriving, both from Spain and from other countries.
Pope's words
In the angelus that the Pope addressed on Sunday, the 3rd, in St. Peter's Square, he asked to continue praying for Valencia, "which is suffering so much these days", and he directly questioned the faithful with two questions: "What am I doing for the people of Valencia? Do I pray, do I offer something? Think about this question.
A few days earlier, on October 31, he had expressed his solidarity in a video sent to Luis Argüello, president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
