Houses near Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Hopkinsville, Ky., are seen after a tornado Jan. 1, 2022. (CNS photo/courtesy Father Richard Meredith) Jenny and Bill Rush and other parishioners at Sts Peter and Paul Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, were nearly finished praying the rosary after an early morning Mass on New Year’s Day when an isolated tornado shook the church, much to their surprise.
As the storm roared, the group prayed all the louder, Jenny told Catholic News Service January 3.
“We kept praying even though the lights were flickering,” she said. “It was exhilarating and terrifying, but at the same token it was spiritually uplifting to realise that even as we were praying the ‘Memorare’ she (Mary) was holding us. I honestly believe she was holding us.”
Bill watched what parishioners describe as the “great window”, expecting it to break “because the storm was so loud”. It survived intact.
The storm passed in minutes. Except for a downed tree, a few missing shingles and minor water damage to another building, the church escaped serious harm, Fr Richard Meredith, pastor, said in an email.
“Lights went out and it passed in under two minutes,” the priest wrote, adding that the cleanup in the downtown area and the east side of the city of 31,000 where the storm struck was continuing. No injuries were reported.
Nearby homes and businesses, including Mount Olivet Baptist Church, along the storm’s mile-long path, sustained extensive damage, local officials reported.