A church in Brazil burned to the ground and only one thing survived: the image of Jesus

The wooden roof collapsed. The pews burned. The high altar brought from Italy was left under the rubble. But when firefighters inspected the ruins of the Church of Nossa Senhora de Lourdes, in Flores da Cunha, Brazil, they found something no one expected: an image of Jesus Christ completely intact, without a single burn. 🙏

The fire occurred right in the middle of restoration work on the roof, the same one the community had spent months funding with festivals and collections to cover the rain leaks. The church, built between 1904 and 1914 by French Capuchin friars and Italian immigrants, was considered an architectural jewel of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Parish priest Friar Jadir Segala, visibly shaken, said it plainly: “Our faith has not burned and remains”. 🔥⛪