Venezuelan priest: Some places are unrecognizable after earthquakes

The Dean of the Diocese of La Guaira, Father William Vasquez, shares his people’s anxiety and suffering in the wake of the earthquakes that struck Venezuela, which claimed the lives of more than 1,900 people.

Written by Johan Pacheco

“The scale of the disaster is enormous. The La Guaira area is the most devastated in the entire country. Some places are almost unrecognizable because everything has been destroyed… areas that will likely be evacuated and abandoned,” Father William José Vazquez Toro, dean of St. Peter the Apostle Seminary in La Guaira, Venezuela, said after the deadly earthquakes that struck the country on June 24, also severely damaging the seminary’s facilities.

In La Guaira, rescue operations continue around the clock, a week after the earthquake, in an attempt to find as many survivors as possible.

The tragic death toll has exceeded 1,900 people, with more than 10,000 injured. About 50,000 people are still missing and feared dead. Official figures also indicate that nearly 16,000 people were displaced or affected by the disaster, while 855 buildings were damaged.

“There are areas that must be reconsidered in the future, especially regarding the transfer of all residents and survivors to other places,” Father Vasquez told Vatican News.

He added: “There has been talk of a very large number of buildings collapsing, and the aftershocks are still continuing. Because of these aftershocks, people have been urged to remain calm but also to be very careful, as there are places that are likely to collapse. Now the biggest task begins: supporting people through this situation.”

Damaged buildings in La Guaira (AFP or licensors)

Hope in rescue efforts

“People are still being rescued. For example, last night, near our seminary, a 12-year-old boy was pulled alive from under the rubble, even though the earthquake occurred last Wednesday night,” Father Vasquez explained.

“We are here to help and accompany people,” Father Vasquez said. “There has been a great deal of solidarity. We have seen it in the rescue teams that have arrived from other places and in the strength and resilience of the Venezuelan people.”

Father Luis Garcia, priest of the Diocese of San José in Caracas, describes the difficulties people face in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Venezuela. Pope Leo says…

He also regretted that many members of the local church’s Caritas parish organizations were either dead or still missing.

However, “the church currently has collection and distribution centers in La Guaira and several other locations. Supplies are being distributed throughout the affected areas, especially to reach the communities that suffered the most devastation and those who need them most.”

The Diocese of La Guaira was left without a seminary

The head of St. Peter the Apostle School also reported that the building itself suffered severe damage.

“We are practically left without a seminary, because after evaluating the building, it is very likely that we will not be able to return there. It is in a very bad condition. However, the seminary is us,” he said.

He also praised the courage of the seminarians who quickly participated in relief efforts for those affected by the disaster.

“I told them that this shows that, God willing, they will become good priests. I reminded them that the seminary is for each one of them, and that this is the right moment to reaffirm God’s call to serve Christ and serve the Church.”

Without facilities for their formation in La Guaira, the seminarians were welcomed by the Sant Rosa Lima Theological Seminary in the Venezuelan capital, a gesture that Father Vasquez described as “a tremendous act of solidarity with the ecclesiastical province of Caracas.”

Pope Leo XIV expresses his solidarity and calls for prayers for the people of Venezuela, as the death toll from the two earthquakes rises sharply.

The humanitarian situation is getting worse

The UNHCR, which coordinates protection and shelter efforts for those displaced by earthquakes in Venezuela, said on Tuesday that the humanitarian situation in affected areas had “rapidly deteriorated.”

According to the agency, there is “severe food shortage, collapse of basic services, and increased risks to the protection of displaced populations.”

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