MADRID (OSV News): As Spain mourned over 200 victims of a major peacetime disaster, volunteers rushed to the Valencia region to help with cleanup efforts. Local parishes and cultural institutions became aid centers, storing supplies and coordinating volunteer activities to clean streets and homes.
“The situation varies in each area and town. For example, in Valencia, some towns remain cut off from communication, without electricity, phone service, or food,” said Father Luis Miguel Rojo Septién, director of Caritas Spain, in an interview with the Spanish Catholic news outlet Alfa y Omega.
“It is very dramatic,” he added, emphasising that “the main task right now is to clean up the mud left by the flood.”
Caritas branches focused on finding vulnerable people and giving them the support they need, as their situations have become more complicated. “We are also offering psychological support and companionship. Sometimes, a compassionate look or a moment of prayerful silence is enough to convey, ‘You have lost everything, but I’m here, sharing in your suffering,’” the priest noted.
On the morning of November 2, 15,000 volunteers gathered at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences, waiting for hours to receive cleanup assignments for affected areas.
The situation varies in each area and town. For example, in Valencia, some towns remain cut off from communication, without electricity, phone service, or food
Father Luis Miguel Rojo Septién, Caritas Spain
Pope Francis called for prayers during his Angelus prayer on November 3. “Let us continue to pray for Valencia and for other communities in Spain that are suffering greatly,” the pope said. “What can I do for the people of Valencia? Do I pray? Do I offer something? Reflect on this question,” he urged.
Archbishop Enrique Benavent of Valencia expressed heartfelt gratitude “to every diocese in Spain that has offered help since learning of the tragedy,” as well as to “all Valencians, who have kept the affected families in their prayers and have been ready to assist in every way possible,” according to the archdiocesan website.
After reports of people dying in the flood—some in their homes, cars, and garages, and one at a shopping center—the archbishop spoke out: “To all those who are suffering, may they feel our friendly and compassionate support. To those who are now homeless and in distress, we wish to express the Church’s solidarity and closeness. We will do our best to accompany them and address their needs.”
On November 3, a crowd of frustrated survivors threw mud at King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia during their visit to a flood-stricken area. Despite this, the royals sought to comfort the people. Many expressed that their anger was not directed at the royals, but at the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who was hurriedly escorted away, as reported by The Associated Press.
Father Salvador Pastor, the parish priest at Our Lady of Grace in La Torre, Valencia, said this working-class area had families living in basic conditions, making the disaster’s impact severe. On October 28 and 29, his church was underwater, with 15.2 metres of water, leaving it and the sacristy covered in mud.
The parish community worked tirelessly, organising groups of volunteers to turn the church into a strategic point for distributing food and supplie
Despite the destruction, he remains hopeful, as the parish was transformed into a help centre just a week later. The parish community worked tirelessly, organising groups of volunteers to turn the church into a strategic point for distributing food and supplies in coordination with the city council and firefighters. It quickly became a hub where tables were set up with clothes of all sizes, coats, diapers, wipes, sandwiches, milk, and medicine, according to Alfa y Omega.
Young people came to lend a hand, including 35 volunteers from a parish in Getafe, who travelled to Valencia “to be there and to embrace those in need.”
Father Eliert Jerez, vicar of Villaviciosa de Odón’s parish church, commented, “It was the young people’s wish to help, and they asked to come,” adding, “We took the bull by the horns and called for help, and the community responded in full force.”
He said, “We filled several trucks and vans—eight vehicles in total—with food, tools, toiletries, disinfectants, and water pumps, delivering supplies worth US$27,000 to the area on Sunday morning,” according to Alfa y Omega.
Images of priests and religious sisters covered in mud gained attention on social media over the weekend of November 2 to 3. Father Federico Ferrando and Sister Fons spent hours shoveling mud with young people from different parishes, while Father Gustavo Riveiro from St. George Church in Paiporta shared a photo of Christ recovered from the flooded church.
“His image, with his face covered in mud, is a stark reminder of the hundreds of deaths in Paiporta, the number of missing persons that cannot yet be counted, and the families affected, which is the real tragedy,” the parish priest said.
