When the Aug. 10 earthquake hit the town of Chiquinquirá in Roldanillo, a subdistrict of the Valle del Cauca district in Colombia, a wooden tabernacle in a historic chapel was destroyed, scattering consecrated hosts across the floor and covering them with debris. Minutes later, the pastor and a nearby religious sister gathered them up to take care of them according to Church protocol.
The quake severely damaged Our Lady of the Rosary chapel, which dates back to the 17th century. Inside the chapel’s tabernacle was the ciborium containing the consecrated hosts left over from the Mass celebrated the previous Saturday by Father Germán Andrés Clavijo, the pastor of St. Sebastian Parish, the parish to which the chapel belongs.
Immediately after the quake, which struck at 7:34 a.m. local time, the priest entered the chapel with Sister Marcela, a member of the Community of the Blessed Sacrament. They went straight to the wall where the tabernacle had been located. Falling debris had knocked the tabernacle down from its place.
“I said to her, ‘Help me look, because the consecrated hosts are there,’” the priest recounted to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. “We found the ciborium, but it was completely smashed,” Clavijo said, adding that “some of the hosts were badly broken,” so they began gathering them up with great care.
As they picked them up by hand, both recited the “litanies to the Blessed Sacrament, to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,” and placed them into a smaller ciborium. Afterward, they sprinkled water over the debris and the areas where particles of the hosts that could no longer be gathered up might have remained.
Regarding the hosts that were mixed in with dirt and debris, Clavijo said: “I told her they must be placed in a container of water so that they would dissolve” and the water could later be poured by a tree or into a potted plant.
No. 1377 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist” in the physical appearance of bread and wine.
The priest from Roldanillo said it was “very sad” to see the hosts scattered on the ground, for the Eucharist “is the life of the priest; that is the life of the Church; it is our center.”
However, he said he had to be “very strong, because I had to find a solution,” adding: “It wasn’t the time for lamenting; after all, the earthquake had just happened, and we were in a very unsafe spot, fearing that an aftershock or something else might cause debris to come crashing down on us.”
The quake’s effects in Roldanillo
Roldanillo was one of the areas hardest hit areas by the earthquake. Located about 90 miles from Cali and founded in 1576, many of its buildings date back to the colonial era and the early days of the republic.
The day after the natural disaster, the Valle del Cauca governorʼs office reported that two people had died and 112 were injured. In addition, nearly 1,300 homes were affected, “some of which have completely collapsed,” and “60% of the hospital sustained structural damage.”
Regarding the parish church, the priest said that it is has closed due to the effects of the earthquake, so Masses are being celebrated in the town square. The chapel cannot be used either, and its restoration will depend on the Colombian government as it is classified as a national heritage building.
In the video he shared on the day of the earthquake, Clavijo expressed his solidarity with the residents of Roldanillo: “Amid the rubble left behind, I also wish to offer a prayer of hope and encouragement for those who have lost everything, especially those who have lost a loved one.”
The Aug. 10, 2026, earthquake that hit the town of Chiquinquirá in Roldanillo, a subdistrict of the Valle del Cauca district in Colombia, severely damaged Our Lady of the Rosary chapel, which dates back to the 17th century.| Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Germán Andrés Clavijo/video screenshot
The priest affirmed that, although it is not easy, “with hope and God’s hand, all of us united, will overcome this storm. As the Gospel said yesterday [Sunday, Aug. 9], sometimes we walk amid strong winds and turbulent waves, and our boat seems to be sinking, but God reaches out his hand to us. Like Peter, we all cry out: ‘Lord, save us.’”
“And that is what we pray for today. To all of you, I offer my blessing and words of encouragement and hope during these times. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” he said, blessing the viewers.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.