Their Christian faith has helped a family come to peace, as fire engulfed their California home last week.
A video recorded by the family from Altadena, California, has gone viral after statues of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph were discovered unscathed in the rubble of their home, which was destroyed in wildfires.
Peter and Jackie Halpin, along with their family, fled their house as the Eaton Fire swept through the area, reducing their property of 37 years to ashes. Remarkably, two statues—a Virgin Mary and a Saint Joseph—were found intact among the destruction.
“It was remarkable how everything had gotten fried, but the statue of The Virgin Mary and another statue of Saint Joseph were in perfect condition,” Peter Halpin, the family patriarch, told ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ on Sunday.
“Obviously, they were a little singed, but we just took that opportunity to pray. Our home is dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus and always has been and all my family members, my extended family, so we said a prayer to the sacred heart of Jesus, and then we sang that special song that our entire family has known for decades to The Blessed Virgin, and it was a remarkable thing.”
“We gave our pain to Christ and his mother,” Andrew Halpin told KTLA 5.
Andrew’s sister, Marie Clare Metcalfe, explained that “faith has always been the foundation of our family, and it will continue to be as we navigate forward.”
The family “broke the law” by visiting what remained of their home of 37 years last week. When they discovered that the deadly Eaton fire had diminished the rest to rubble, they leaned on faith, singing in praise alongside their six children and other loved ones in a since-viral video posted to Instagram.
“Our intention was not for this thing to go viral at all,” he continued. “It was pretty much just a family thing, but the response from the community has been unbelievable and so heartfelt.”
Peter’s wife Jackie said she fell to her knees in emotion after her son-in-law snuck up to the site of the home the day before, snapping a photo that revealed the statue was still standing.
She knew then they had to make their own pilgrimage to the site to thank God for the years they spent there.
The wildfires in Southern California have caused widespread devastation, with the combined death toll from the Palisades and Eaton fires reaching 24 as of Monday.
(Picture Courtesy: Jackie Halpin/Instagram)
