3 days of prayers for thousands of storm deaths

TACLOBAN CITY—The Archdiocese of Palo led three days of prayers and remembrance for thousands of people who died when Supertyphoon “Yolanda” struck Eastern Visayas, particularly Leyte province, on Nov. 8.

All churches within the archdiocese held Masses as part of the archdiocesan day of prayer led by Bishop John Du, a month after the storm caused storm surges of up to 20 feet high in Tacloban.

Across a wide area in central Philippines, more than 5,000 perished and the number is expected to increase as more bodies, now decomposing, are still being found beneath the rubble and along the seashores of the city and neighboring Leyte towns.

Priests blessed the mass graves in Tacloban and other areas in Leyte. Msgr. Alex Opiniano, parish priest of Sto. Niño Parish Church, led the blessing ceremony in the villages of Buhi and Basper in the capital, which accounted for more than 2,000 fatalities.

Du led the blessing of the grave site within the premises of Palo Cathedral. Some 200 town residents who lost their lives in the typhoon were buried there.

The bishop officiated the Mass at the cathedral, which lost its ceiling and main altar during the typhoon. The cathedral had just undergone renovation for the celebration of its 75th founding anniversary last week.

Fr. Kelvin Joy Apurillo, parish priest of the church in the village of San Joaquin here, enjoined the people to remain hopeful that they would overcome this calamity and to be grateful to God for their “second life and second chance.”

“Thus, we should live good. God will remain with us,” said Apurillo, who officiated the Mass at the front courtyard of his church where 288 residents of the village were buried.

Villager Felimon Fernandez, 40, quietly wept for his two sons and mother-in-law who were among the dead. The body of his second son, Antheil, 12, was recovered only on Dec. 5, days after those of his eldest son, Aries, 18, and mother-in-law Natividad Bendoy, 80, were found by rescuers.

“I still cannot believe they are gone now. But at least we found and buried them. I know where to visit them whenever I miss them,” he said.

Fe Napoles, 36, said that despite what happened to their village, she still felt lucky because she only lost her house and other material possessions to the water that had risen way over their heads.

Napoles, her husband Edward and their 4-year-old son, Edward Jr., have taken shelter at San Joaquin Elementary School.

In his homily, Archbishop Du emphasized that the event was not just to pray for the souls of those who have died in the typhoon but also to assure the grieving families that they are not alone in their most trying moments.