Blessing of the Blessed Sacrament that stopped a tsunami

Thanks to the faith of a parish priest and his people.

The 2010 tsunami , which hit the coast of Chile after an earthquake caused by the movement of the continental and oceanic plates, is a type of event that has been repeated for centuries in various places on the planet.

A few decades ago, on the small island of Tumaco (Colombia), what happened to a tsunami taught its inhabitants that God, present in the Blessed Sacrament, acts when his priests and faithful invoke him with love and faith .

The event occurred on January 31, 1906. At ten in the morning, the inhabitants of this tiny island of the Pacific felt a strong earthquake, which lasted about 10 minutes. Then all the people ran to the church to beg the parish priest, Father Gerardo Larrondo, and Father Julián to immediately organize a procession with the Blessed Sacrament.

Meanwhile, the sea continued to recede, with the threat of an immense wave. Gerardo, frightened, consumed all the consecrated hosts of the ampule and conserved only the Magnetic Host.

Then, addressing the people, he exclaimed, “Come, my children, let us all go to the beach, and may God have mercy on us!”

Feeling secure before the presence of Jesus Eucharist, all walked, with tears and acclamations to God. When Father Larrondo arrived at the beach, he went boldly to the bank with the custody in his hands.

At the moment when the wave was coming, he raised the consecrated Host, with a steady hand and a heart full of faith, and in front of all traced the sign of the cross. It was a moment of solemnity.

The wave continued to advance, but, before Father Larrondo and Father Julián could perceive, the people, moved and amazed, shouted: “Miracle! Miracle!”.

In fact, as if it had been stopped by an invisible force and superior to nature, the powerful wave that threatened to wipe out the island of Tumaco had begun its retreat as the sea returned to its normal level.

The inhabitants of Tumaco, amid the euphoria and the joy of being saved from death thanks to the sacramental Jesus , manifested their gratitude. The miracle of Tumaco was known throughout the world, and Father Larrondo also received from the Continent numerous letters from people who asked for his prayers.

(Source: book “Augustinian Lovers of the Holy Eucharist”, by Fr. Pedro del Rosario Corro)