by Father Christopher O’Connor

By now, you have all heard of the devastating earthquake that recently hit Colombia.

I traveled to Cali, Colombia, on Aug. 8 after visiting the cities of Bogotá, Bucaramanga, and Cúcuta. The religious sisters I stay with, the Comunicadoras Eucarísticas del Padre Celestial (the Eucharistic Communicators of the Heavenly Father), live outside the city of Cali near a town called Dagua on a ranch in the mountains.

It is a beautiful place to be and pray. On Aug. 10, I was lying in my bed in what the sisters call “my house” when my bed began to shake. At first, I thought it was one of the dogs on the property who likes to play fetch with me. I looked up at the ceiling and saw the roof start shaking. I then realized it was an earthquake.

I first thought of standing under a doorframe but quickly decided that wasn’t safe enough, so I grabbed my phone and some clothes and ran outside.

I felt the whole ground shake violently. I was worried about the sisters.

When the tremors stopped, I went back inside to dress and went up to check on the sisters who lived farther up the mountain. I found them sitting on chairs in the open air. They cheered as I approached them. A few of them were quite frightened, and I held them to let them know they were safe.

After checking on everyone, we realized that the electricity was gone (and still is as of Aug. 18). We then went to celebrate Mass to help everyone focus.

The rest of the day was spent checking the buildings and preparing ourselves for days without power. In the afternoon, I led a Holy Hour and blessed all the sisters with the Blessed Sacrament. For dinner, I was sitting outside with the 12 sisters in formation.

Once the sun had set, we could only see each other in the candlelight.

I knew they needed something else, and I suggested we sing. They all cheered. Several of them got instruments, and we had a praise and worship night under the stars.

It was exactly what we needed. I then prayed over each sister and blessed them individually before we retired for the night.

The next day, we still had no power and no signal.

Four of the sisters and I got into a van to try to find a signal to let everyone know we were fine. We tried a few locations to no avail and then drove an hour and a half to the city of Cali, where we finally found a signal.

We stopped in a local church to charge our devices and contact many people. I had over 400 messages waiting for me.

It was certainly an experience. We only learned of the extent of the devastation once we got to Cali.

We continue to pray for the dead and the injured, those who lost their homes and possessions, and those who still do not know if their loved ones survived.

The sisters and I are praying fervently for all.

I ask that you join us in prayer.

Father Christopher O’Connor is the pastor of St. Mary’s Winfield Church in Woodside.