Miracle in Turkey: Virgin Mary Statue Unscathed Despite Earthquake Devastation

On Monday 6 February, a terrible earthquake struck the region and is thought to have killed more than 17,000 people. A statue of the Mother of God in the Annunciation Cathedral in Alexandretta, the Apostolic Vicarate of Anatolia, was left untouched as the rest of the cathedral collapsed around it.

Father Antuan Ilgit, a Turkish Jesuit priest, posted pictures of the disaster on social media after the earthquake and asked for prayers for the Turkish people. He took pictures of an unbroken statue of the Virgin Mary standing among the rubble, as well as an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus.

In a Facebook post, the priest said: "This image will be our strength, and with it we will face everything".

Ilgit also shared pictures of the destroyed cathedral in other posts, asking people to "pray for us and for the people".

He wrote: "It was a strong earthquake. "We don't know for sure yet. But our church is gone! Now that the living stones that need to be taken care of are here, we will be able to rebuild everything with God's help".

The cathedral was destroyed on Monday morning when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck south-east Turkey and north-west Syria. A few hours later, another 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey, one of the world's most seismically active regions, causing further damage. More than 17,000 people have died so far, and the death toll is likely to rise.

On Tuesday morning, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, said the country would be in a state of emergency for three months. Countries around the world have pledged to help Turkey, sending rescue teams and other supplies to help find survivors. Canada has pledged $10 million to help Turkey.

On Tuesday morning, Pope Francis tweeted in support of Turkey and Syria. He said he was praying for the victims of the destruction and called it a "terrible tragedy".

Ilgit reminded people that "trust in God and His Holy Providence" must come first, no matter how bad things are.

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