With all the tensions here at home, it's easy to forget there's a world out there. One of the most faithful followers of my blog is a person from Portugal. I have no idea who it is, but every time I post a new blog, there is a pageview from Portugal.
I mention all this because yesterday, 13 people were killed and 50 injured when a giant tree fell into a crowd of worshipers gathered to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is one of the six Catholic holy days of obligation.
The tragedy occurred in Madeira, Portugal, a popular tourist destination dubbed the "pearl of the Atlantic." Madeira is an island in the North Atlantic, actually situated closer to Morocco than the Iberian Peninsula.
The Festival of Our Lady of the Mountain is held in a village in the hills overlooking the town of Funchal. The square, called Fountain Square, sits outside the church, and is decorated in bright flowers and shaded by plane trees. A cable car links the town with the village. This year's celebration was to be especially joyous because the festival had to be cancelled last year after wild fires destroyed the surrounding countryside.
A massive, two-hundred-year-old, oak tree came crashing down just after midday as a panicked crowd screamed and fled. One little girl was killed, and numerous children numbered among the injured.
An eyewitness reported, "I heard a great noise and when I looked at the tree it was already falling but was too fast and people started to run and those who couldn't run stayed under the tree."
Sources stated that the tree had been shored up for at least two years because the trunk was hollow.
My best wishes go out to the people of Portugal, of whom I think often, thanks to one kindred spirit and the wonder of technology.
Any deeper questions as to the nature of God, I leave to the individual reader.
People lighting candles after the disaster
Good perspective.... hard to remember sometimes all the rest of the world who has little of our privilege.
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