Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

Prayers and power grid repairs are underway in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as Hurricane Ernesto roared through the Caribbean.

Ernesto struck Puerto Rico late on August 13 as a tropical storm, then strengthened into a hurricane the following day as it moved toward Bermuda. Winds exceeding 70 mph battered the island, which in some places saw up to 9 inches of rain.

Archbishop Roberto O. Gonzalez of San Juan, Puerto Rico, issued an August 13 message, posted to the archdiocese’s Facebook page, recommending the temporary suspension of liturgies and parish events for that day and the following.

He assured faithful they would “be able to count on their parish Caritas groups for any emergency or care necessary after the storm passed in their respective communities.”

As of August 15, some 700,000 customers were without power after the storm, according to LUMA, the energy company that oversees Puerto Rico’s electrical transmission and distribution system. The island’s energy grid remains fragile after multiple impacts from natural disasters in recent years.

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria resulted in the nation’s longest blackout, with “almost the entire island … left in the dark,” according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Some households were not reconnected to the power grid until almost a year later, and thousands died in the months after the storm as basic services and infrastructure were impaired.

Compounding that damage were a series of earthquakes and aftershocks that began in late December 2019 and continued into 2020, with a magnitude 6.4 earthquake striking southwestern Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020.

Just over 100 miles southeast of Puerto Rico, faithful in the Diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands were relieved they had largely been spared serious damage from the storm.

“Thank God we didn’t (incur) any major effects from tropical storm Ernesto,” wrote the diocese on its Facebook page on August 14.

Ahead of Ernesto's arrival, the diocese had reposted on its Facebook page a “hurricane prayer” used in July: “Save us from all harm; draw us ever closer to you as we confidently seek your protection from the destructive force of all storms which frighten us,” read part of it. “Let every hurricane or natural threat of disaster serve only to blow us ever more securely into your loving, merciful embrace.”

In an August 14 Facebook post announcing the feast of Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary, they reiterated ongoing prayers: “As we go through hurricane season let us come together in prayer and seek Mary’s intervention for protection and guidance during this challenging time,” said another post by them. "Let us unite faith asking for her intercession navigating uncertainties upcoming."