According to the faithful of a Catholic parish in Peru, "a miracle from God" saved their statues after the church's roof collapsed due to heavy rainfall.
Last week, the city of Huancayo in Peru suffered a cycle of heavy rains that affected the structure of the church of the annex of Cochas Grande, in the district of El Tambo.
As a consequence of 16 uninterrupted hours of rainfall, the roof of the parish church collapsed and collapsed, causing a landslide of materials that fell on the altar and pews.
Below is the video with the damage:
According to local media reports, there were no injuries, because the incident occurred when the church was closed.
However, amid the sadness at seeing the destruction of their more than 100-year-old church, the faithful were surprised that the collapse did not damage the statues.
The statues of Jesus Christ crucified, St. Martin de Porres and St. Rose of Lima remained intact, and the image of Our Lady of Fatima received only minor damage.
The church "already showed damage due to the heavy rains that occurred and at around 11:00 p.m. The church collapsed when the rainfall intensified.
"Thank God that our saints, like St. Martin and St. Rose, were saved; only the little hand of Our Lady of Fatima broke, and the Crucified Christ was also saved," a resident told the Andina News Agency.
The mayor of El Tambo appeared at the site after the collapse and promised to help rebuild the church.
“These are critical moments because the walls were already cracked; there was a lateral push from a very old building. We have planned to intervene so that it does not continue deteriorating. With the rain, it took on more pressure,” he said.
In the midst of the destruction, the faithful found hope in the images of the saints that remained intact.