A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, including a cloth mantle, was left intact amid the devastation caused by Hurricane Otis, which struck the coastal city of Acapulco and other areas of the Mexican state of Guerrero last week with wind gusts of up to 200 miles per hour.
Newsroom (06/11/2023 09:46, Gaudium Press) The Category 5 hurricane, which made landfall near Acapulco at 12:25 a.m. local time on Oct. 25, left at least 46 dead and serious damage to hotels, homes, and businesses throughout the state.
La Quebrada is a 148-foot-high cliff on the shores of the Pacific in Acapulco. Since 1934, young divers have leapt from the height to plunge into a channel 23 feet wide and 13 feet deep, a very popular spectacle among tourists. Before each jump, the divers cross themselves and commend themselves to the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose image was installed at the location.
Reporter Edgar Galicia of Azteca Noticias recently toured the area and discovered that the small statue placed in the grotto had not suffered any damage during the passage of Hurricane Otis. The only damage observed from the storm, which had winds exceeding 185 miles per hour, was to some of the lights that adorned the image.
“It’s truly a beautiful thing,” Galicia said in a video posted Nov. 1 on X, “ to know that this Virgin, who for many years has ‘made the sign of the cross’ over many divers here, is doing well, because it’s from here where they throw themselves into the sea.”
The Virgin Mary, ‘Mother of Hope’
Given the surprising occurrence, Father Rafael Valencia, vicar general and spokesman for the Archdiocese of Acapulco, spoke about the importance of the Virgin Mary as a source of consolation in times of adversity.
“The Virgin Mary is the mother of hope. In this difficult moment, she encourages us to hold firm the hope that springs from our faith in Jesus Christ Our Lord, to feel accompanied by her and her son, her Jesus,“ Valencia said.
The priest also stressed that the presence of holy Mary, “as mother,” helps us experience “the consolation and closeness of God, who consoles us and helps us.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
