Crosses still hung on a wall marked by the flood line at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, July 7, in the aftermath of deadly flooding. (Sergio Flores / Reuters / OSV News)
OSV News
SAN ANTONIO — Deadly July 4 flash floods in western Texas have so far claimed at least 120 lives, including those of 27 children at a Christian summer camp. After his pastoral visit to flood-ravaged Kerr County, Texas, over the July 4 holiday weekend — which included the celebration of Mass July 6 at Notre Dame Catholic Church in Kerrville — Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller spoke with OSV News about faith, suffering and compassion amid the tragedy.
“As a shepherd, the main element that I bring — and it’s so important — is accompaniment,” he said.
The archbishop also stressed the need to allow flood victims to fully grieve their losses, just as Mary stood unwaveringly at her son’s cross.
Allowing people to work through any anger at God from the tragedy is also important, the archbishop stressed. Prayer is essential, and should lead to greater compassion for and patience with those around us, he said.
Having “walked with the people in Uvalde” — the Texas town which in May 2022 experienced a mass school shooting that killed 19 children and two adults — the archbishop cautioned that “this (flooding) situation will take a long, long time (to heal).”
On July 8, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that 161 people in Kerr County alone were still missing.
The state received prayers from Rome July 6 as Pope Leo XIV spoke of the horrific events at his Sunday Angelus talk.
“I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters, who were at the summer camp, in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States,” he said, adding, “We pray for them.”
The Archdiocese of San Antonio asked for the intercession of St. Anthony of Padua for “our communities in need.” In a social media post, it prayed for “families who have lost loved ones, homes, or livelihoods due to the recent flooding in the Hill Country, that they may find strength and healing through Christ.”
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston posted prayers in English and Spanish for those affected by the flooding saying, “in this time of uncertainty and sorrow, we unite ourselves to the Good Shepherd and ask for His protection and comfort over the victims, families, and first responders. We entrust the souls of those who passed to the mercy of Our Heavenly Father, and we seek the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, imploring her assistance in the rescue of those still missing.”
Among the dead were two sisters from St. Rita’s Catholic Church in Dallas, Blair and Brooke Harber, 13 and 11 years old. The girls were camping with their grandparents along the Guadalupe River.
According to a GoFundMe for the family, the girls were known to love religion class and had their rosaries with them on the trip. The sisters’ bodies were found 15 miles away with their hands clasped together.
The girls’ parents were in a separate cabin and were able to survive the flood, but their grandparents were still missing as of July 7.
“Please keep the Harber family in your prayers during this time of profound grief. May our faith, our love, and our St. Rita community be a source of strength and comfort in the days ahead,” St. Rita’s pastor, Father Joshua J. Whitfield, said in a message to the church community.
Notre Dame Catholic Church in Kerrville has been a hub of both material and spiritual support for the devastated community. The outpouring of support has been so great that the church has paused collection of food, water, clothes and cleaning supplies, although financial donations are still being accepted.
“We were overwhelmed by the amount of support that has poured in over the last two days,” the parish said in a July 6 Facebook post, which included pictures of dozens of cases of bottled water, paper products, shelf-stable food, diapers and cleaning supplies.
The parish has also announced a nightly rosary, which was prayed July 7-11, for flood victims, families still searching for loved ones, first responders and volunteers.
OSV News reporters Gina Christian and Lauretta Brown contributed to this story.