Cardinal DiNardo: Pray for everyone enduring Hurricane Harvey

Houston, Texas, Aug 26, 2017 / 12:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The arrival of Hurricane Harvey in Texas is a time for prayer, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston has said.

“Please join me and pray for all of those affected by the storm and in need of assistance during this natural disaster,” the cardinal said Aug. 26. “In addition, I ask the faithful to also keep the emergency response personnel and volunteers in your prayers. For those residing in our Archdiocese, in Texas and along the Gulf Coast, be safe and may God have mercy on those affected by Hurricane Harvey.”

He said there has already been “substantial property damage” in the southern counties of the archdiocese.

The storm arrived at about 10 p.m. local time Friday as a Category 4 hurricane, bringing strong winds, heavy rains and flooding.

Fatalities were feared in the coastal town of Rockport, Texas, where about 5,000 residents remained, CNN reports. Walls and roofs had collapsed on some people.

Late Saturday morning, the storm was still a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 75 mph and a coastal storm surge of 13-feet-tall. Some parts of Texas could receive up to 40 inches of rain.

Voicing gratitude for police, medical personnel and other first responders working during the storms, he advised the faithful to follow the instructions of civil authorities and to “stay together, and pray.”

Before the storm made landfall, Bishop Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi voiced gratitude for police, medical personnel and other first responders working during the storms. He advised the faithful to follow the instructions of civil authorities and to “stay together, and pray.”

He recommended they should think on the many Gospel passages about the waters, like Christ calming troubled seas. The bishop encouraged Catholics to have “that same faith that Peter had” during the storms.