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The spirituality of St. Francis de Sales is a “Spirituality of the Heart,” relevant today as in the time of St. Francis de Sales himself - an all-embracing, Down-to-earth Spirituality for everyone.

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Editorial  Farewell Holy Father

Papa Benedict XVI  SFS Fr. General

Chennai Region Southern Africa

Chad  Philippines  Florimont

Les Equipes, Notre-Dame  Kenya

Divya Tejas  JVS Sr. Emmanuelle

Bashbari  War Jaintias

Lourdu Matha Feast  Mozambique

Germany-Austria  Tsunami Victims

Witnessing  Wellspring

Stay with us, O Lord

Jubilarians  New Priests

   

   

  

Vol. 8  2005

 

Fransalian International

 

 

 

 

 

MSFS care for Tsunami Victims

 

 

 

 

 

MSFS

Global News

 

 

 

A day after Christmas 2004, millions across south Asia were witness to the terrifying power of the elements, which led to the death of over 250,000 people in the Asian Tsunami disaster. Although about 2,000 km for the epicentre of the earthquake that caused it, India felt its impact too, losing more than 20,000 people. Tsunamis are considered a hazard in the Pacific, but not in our waters. Without warning, out of a clear blue sky, a moving wall of water hit shorelines all across Asia. In nature and scale, this was an unprecedented, apocalyptic event. Sudden and swift, the tsunami would have tested even the most efficient disaster-management system in the world.

  

 

Within minutes of tsunami striking Kanyakumari, Pondicherry and other little villages along the coast on Sunday morning, the MSFS confreres (especially Frs. S. Alexander, A. Edward, John de Britto, Peter Chakkulickal, M. Nicholas, D. Robert, Arockia Selvam, Sebastian Robert, and Shibu Thundathil with the staff of FIDESIndia) too had summoned their fellow-confreres and flock. Within half an hour, a few of them had left their presbyteries for the beaches in their jeeps, cars, two-wheelers and cycles, picking up and rushing the injured to hospitals. By noon they had organized milk for a few hundred babies, and food for over 3,000 survivors. By evening, about 3,000 men were tending to over 10,000 Hindus, Muslims and Christians in makeshift camps in the local schools. A few hundred of the survivors were invited to stay in the Parish churches. Many more were in the parish schools and office buildings. For the next five days, they had employed 24 cooks working round the clock to feed about 10,000 odd survivors, some in the relief camps and others in the battered villages. As the bodies began piling up, they asked their helpers not to hesitate. And for the next four days, they had been doing what might be unthinkable for many: carrying bodies on their own shoulders and cremating them. Some of them said that they hadn’t slept or eaten for a few days well after the tragedy struck. They had been running around the villages guiding their men, looking after the survivors, making things work. They have also adopted a few orphaned villages for a sustained assistance to the victims.

 

               

Fransalian International,  Vol. 8, No.1, (2005)

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Updated on Tuesday, April 04, 2006 15:32:40

 

 

 

   

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