LA fire captains see ‘miracles’ inside Corpus Christi rubble
As workers at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels set up for OneLife LA – an annual pro-life rally that had been moved from downtown Los Angeles due to wildfire smoke — volunteers wheeled in the 300-pound brass tabernacle that firefighters had recovered a week earlier from the ashes of Corpus Christi Church in Pacific Palisades.
No announcement had been made that the undamaged tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament inside would be at OneLife LA, but those present recognized it from a story that has gone around the world via Catholic media. As soon as it entered the sanctuary, people dropped to their knees to venerate what has become a profound sign of God’s presence amid devastating loss.
On Feb. 18, the Archdiocese of LA’s Digital Team released a short documentary looking at the damage inside the destroyed church with Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Brian Nassour, who rescued the tabernacle. He was accompanied by Captain Frank V. Lima, who is both general secretary and treasurer of the International Association of Fire Fighters, and a former Pacific Palisades firefighter who had often worshiped at Corpus Christi.