Caribbean churches respond to hurricane ‘catastrophe’

Hurricane Melissa damaged Cuba’s national Marian shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre when it struck the east of the country on 29 October. 

Pope Leo assured victims of Hurricane Melissa of his prayers after it swept the Caribbean last week. 

“I encourage the civil authorities to do everything possible, and I thank the Christian communities, together with voluntary organisations, for the relief they are providing,” he said on 29 October. 

In Jamaica, Dominican friars helped organise relief after Melissa hit with wind speeds of 185mph. Around 75 per cent of the country was left without electricity and farming areas were devastated. Fr Clifton Harris OP led a church team coordinating relief efforts in the west of the island, helping to organise communal meals in parishes and the repair of flimsy homes. 

Cuba’s Conference of Catholic Bishops called Melissa’s impact “a catastrophe of enormous proportions” and noted that this disaster adds “to the already difficult daily reality of our people”. The hurricane damaged Cuba’s national Marian shrine when it struck the east of the country on 29 October. 

It “tore up the shrine” of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, according to its rector Fr Rogelio Dean. He reported that the 120mph winds damaged stained-glass windows and ripped masonry from the walls.

“Water came in, and well, it has been a very difficult time,” said Fr Dean in a message on social media, adding: “People have lost practically everything. We are experiencing a very painful situation right now.”  

Caritas Cuba reported that large numbers of local homes had flooded after rivers overflowed following the hurricane.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, urged Catholics to pray for and support hurricane victims.  

“Our brothers and sisters in small island nations like Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti are the most vulnerable to the impact of such strong storms, often intensified by a warming climate,” he said, urging support for “the efforts of organisations already on the ground such as Caritas Haiti, Caritas Cuba, and Caritas Antilles, as well as Catholic Relief Services”. 

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