Scottish Catholic Observer

Catholic charities are working to help the many victims of Sunday’s tragic earthquake in Ecuador.

Former missionary priest Fr Martin Chambers (above left), Missio Scotland’s diocesan director for Galloway, has assured the people of Ecuador that Scots will endeavour to support them spiritually and financially after an earthquake measuring 7.8 magnitude. The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) is also monitoring the situation through the Caritas Internationalis network.

So far at least 413 people are thought to have died in the tragedy and more than 2500 people are said to have been injured. The cost of rebuilding in the country—most notably in the towns of Pedernales and Portoviejo, close to the epicentre of the quake—is likely to be billions of dollars. The dead include 33-year-old Derry woman, Sr Clare Theresa Crockett (above right), a nun with the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother who taught 400 children in the Colegio Sagrada Familia School.

Speaking after the quake struck, Fr Chambers—who spent five years as a missionary priest in Nueva Prosperina, Guayaquil, in the south west of the country—assured the Ecuadorean people that prayers were being offered for them.

“After the news of the earthquake that has affected Ecuador, we are united in prayer,” Fr Chambers said. “Ecuador and Scotland are friends, united in prayer and in hope.”

Fr Chambers went on to describe the situation in his missionary diocese and explained how one of his former parishioners is embarking upon his own personal mission to help those in need.

“One of my former parishioners, Tito Misionero, who is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met, told me an inspiring story.

“In the midst of tragedy, he and some friends are travelling to the areas affected by the earthquake to visit orphanages and offer support and comfort for the children who are living through fear. He wants to give them strategies to overcome the pain. And to do this he will have to take leave from his job and that will cost him money.”

The Church’s international Caritas network is also working to help those affected by the quake. SCIAF’s Lorraine Currie said they were monitoring the situation.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ecuador and especially those who have lost family and loved ones in the earthquake,” she said. “We are in contact with our sister agencies in Caritas.”

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—This story ran in full in the April 22 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.