A Virgin Mary statue’s Palisades Fire survival story
In the smoldering rubble of Rick and Tracy McGeagh’s Pacific Palisades home, a statue of Mary stands serene and unscathed amid mangled ruins.
Their son Jack, a psychologist, took many photos of their property after the catastrophic Jan. 7 fire that destroyed the entire community. There was much to weep over, but an image of the Blessed Mother moved the family to a different kind of tears: Mary prays near a charred tree reminiscent of the cross. High in the smoke-darkened sky, a bright sun casts a single beam of light toward the scene of devastation and of faith.
“It’s like Calvary Hill,” McGeagh said. “Mary is at the foot of the cross, as she was, and the sun is God, beaming down on them.”