Liam Kidney (left) and Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson are pictured at St Monica Church with the recovered tabernacle from Corpus Christi Church. Photo: Victor Alemán The Irish clergy community in LA is pretty small and tightknit and are rallying around those affected by the fires, says Fr Jarlaith Cunnane from Sligo, Pastor at St Cornelius’ Church in Los Angeles speaking to The Irish Catholic. “Apocalyptic is the word that gets throw around. In scriptures it refers to disaster and a new revelation of God, people can see the disaster and are now hoping for some meaning.”
Fr Cunnane said Sacred Heart Church in Altadena had been saved due to a deacon and some parishioners that managed to hose down the fire that started on the church. However Corpus Christi Church in the Palisades was burnt to the ground but Irish priest Msgr Liam Kidney (originally from Cork) got a call from an LA Fire Department Captain to say they had rescued the tabernacle.
“I did it because the whole community has been decimated — it looks like a nuclear bomb has gone off and nothing is standing,” said Captain Nassour, a member of St. Francis de Sales Church in Sherman Oaks, whose brother belongs to Corpus Christi.
“My brother lost his home. I have close friends who lost everything but the shirts on their backs, and they belong to that church too. So, if I could save just one thing, let it be this, so they have something to believe in,” he told the Angelus diocesan magazine.
Fr Cunnane said that there is a great outpouring of community spirit but that people’s homes are gone and it will take years to rebuild. “People are in shelters- what’s the plan longer term for people with no houses?” he said. He added that many people such as housekeepers and gardeners worked full-time in some of the big houses of the rich and famous and are now out of work, affecting them and their families.
A Mass for survivors was held at St. Monica Church on Jan. 12. The rescued tabernacle from Corpus Christi Church was on display.
At that Mass, the tabernacle stood on a table by the altar. Fr Kidney recounted Captain Nassour calling him to ask, “I have found this big gold box. What would you like me to do with it?”
The Corpus Christi parishioners burst into applause.
Nassour was unable to attend because he was fighting fires.
Additional reporting from The Angelus. For ways to help please visit http://angelusnews.com/howtohelp