In the face of tragedy, great faith and dedication to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

We have been glued to the news this week, struck by the great tragedy that has unfolded in southern California. As we watched, powerful 70- to 100-mile-per-hour winds drove walls of flames down mountains and across the landscape, threatening residential neighborhoods.

In Altadena, a historic town in the San Gabriel Valley just 14 miles from downtown Los Angeles, the flames had the right of way–killing eleven residents of the quaint artistic community, and reducing more than 1,900 homes, schools and businesses to ash and rubble.

Peter and Jackie Halpin, longtime residents of Altadena, were among those whose property was ravaged by the raging Eaton Fire. The house they had called home for 35 years—where they’d raised their six children and welcomed 14 grandchildren—was burned to the ground. Nothing remained on the property but a statue of the Virgin Mary that had stood in their yard and another, smaller statue of St. Joseph.

But rather than despair at the loss of their home and of so many mementos, the Halpins expressed gratitude for the years they’d spent in that caring environment. Strong in their faith despite the great loss, Pete and Jackie Halpin, with their six adult children, some of their children’s spouses and a family friend, gathered at the smoldering property and sang a hymn of praise to Our Lady:

That hymn was captured on video and has spread on social media, by January 14 reaching more than 98,000 viewers on Instagram.

I was able to talk with Peter Halpin about their loss and about their strong faith.

He admitted that the loss of their family home, along with so many memories, was heart-wrenching.

“The fire came upon us so suddenly,” Peter said, “and we probably prematurely went into panic mode. I was able to gather all our family photos; but my wife lost genealogy records, photos of her grandmother and great-grandparents…. Loss of all that sentimental stuff tears at your heart–especially for my bride.”

Dedication to the Sacred Heart

While the family’s lovely song of praise to Mary was captured on video, Halpin wanted people to know that they had preceded that song with a prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “I don’t think we were filming at that point,” he explained. “We were all saying the prayer. We’ve dedicated all our homes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The first thing you see inside the door of our house is a large picture of the Sacred Heart. Other family members have had to move, but you always take that with you.”

Halpin attributed his family’s devotion to the Sacred Heart, and their ability to join in singing a classic Latin hymn, to his mother. “My mom, Peggy Halpin, catechized not only us, but hundreds of people,” Halpin recalled. “She loved traditional music; and she passed that love along to us. When you have that throughout your life, you tend to take it for granted.”

Halpin said that he was proud to talk about the Sacred Heart in an interview Pete and Jackie did with FOX News. “They asked us, on the third day after the fire, ‘We have to play it on the East Coast first; so could you get up at 3:40 in the morning?’ We did it; it was spontaneous! It was live!”

Halpin was grateful for the opportunity: “We’re talking about Jesus on the national airways! This is the way I talk to people. I’m a very lucky man because my belief is in the depths of my heart and soul.”

He noted that one of the hosts (Rachel Campos-Duffy) was a Catholic woman with nine children. She was familiar with devotion to the Sacred Heart, and with the hymn the Halpins had sung, the Regina Coeli. “Oh yes,” Duffy explained, “The Regina Coeli, by the way, is the Queen of Heaven. It’s a beloved twelfth century Catholic hymn….”

The Fox And Friends segment featuring the Halpins’ interview aired not only all across America, but also in Italy and in Lebanon, where it’s going viral. Halpin smiled at the realization that he and his wife are becoming new celebrities, and they’re happy to spread their message of faith.

“My wife and I went out to breakfast this morning, at Denny’s in Pasadena,” he said. “Three or four big Pasadena firemen came into the restaurant. Two of them may have been chaplains, because they had crosses on their lapels. We told them, ‘We’re one of the people who lost our house!’ – and they said, ‘Could we pray with you guys?’ It was so spontaneous – they put their arms around us when they prayed.”

Peter Halpin’s oldest son Pete Jr., even before the now-viral video, had opened a GoFundMe account to help his parents recover their losses. After people across the country began to see the video of the family’s heartfelt song, they began sending donations.

“We thank the Lord,” explained Peter, “that we have really good insurance! I’m waiting now for my insurance adjustor to call me, so we can go together and assess our situation.”

But while Peter hoped that his insurance would cover a sizable part of his losses, he worried that others in his neighborhood might not have the same protection. At least a half dozen other families lost their homes as well; and Pete said that with the strong response his GoFundMe account has gotten (the account has brought in more than $134,000 as of this writing), he plans to share the proceeds with others who have experienced great loss.