Sunday, June 27, 2021
Tom Tracy – Florida Catholic
Father Juan Sosa, pastor of St. Joseph Church, Miami Beach, the church nearest to the partially-collapsed condo building in Surfside, celebrates morning Mass June 25, 2021, a day after the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, located close to the church.
Parishioners at St. Joseph Church, Miami Beach, the church nearest to the partially-collapsed condo building in Surfside, pray during a morning Mass June 25, 2021, a day after the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, located close to the church.
Fire rescue and search specialists at work June 25, 2021 near the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South in Surfside the day after the tragic event.
Volunteers carry water into the family reunification center near the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South in Surfside June 25, 2021, the day after the tragic event. Families are gathered there desperate for information about the fate of their relatives.
The partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside is visible from Collins Avenue, which is partially closed to pedestrians, June 25, 2021.
The partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside is visible from Collins Avenue, which is partially closed to pedestrians, June 25, 2021.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava drives by ground zero June 25, 2021, a day after the tragic partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South South in Surfside.
Father Juan Sosa, pastor of St. Joseph Church, Miami Beach, the parish nearest to the collapsed condo building in Surfside, speaks to the media June 25, 2021, the day after the tragic event. The remains of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside can be seen on the left from the church parking lot.
Photography: TOM TRACY | FC
MIAMI BEACH | It is an
understatement to say that the people and staff of St. Joseph Parish will be
living the crisis of the Surfside condominium collapse in a most intimate way
for some time to come
Photographer: TOM TRACY | FC
The partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside is visible from Collins Avenue, which is partially closed to pedestrians, June 25, 2021.
Photographer: TOM TRACY | FC
Father Juan Sosa, pastor of St. Joseph Church, Miami Beach, the parish nearest to the collapsed condo building in Surfside, speaks to the media June 25, 2021, 2021. In the distance, the remains of the Champlain Towers South South in Surfside can be seen from the church parking lot.
No other Christian house
of worship is so close to the ground zero of the Champlain Towers South as St.
Joseph. The remains tower in the distance and easily can be seen from the
church grounds.
Then there is the human
connection: the parish pastor, Father Juan Sosa, has reported that 10 of its
registered families remain missing following the collapse and two who were not
in the building at the time are safe.
It is possible, Father
Sosa said, that other families who lived in Champlain Towers South and who worshipped
at St. Joseph informally may be among the missing, since the area is known as a
vacation spot full of short-term rentals and international visitors from South
American and beyond.
“Plus there are the many
who used to come on weekends from other parts of Miami who have worshipped with
us, and so we are very touched by the idea of the whole community being bound
together and praying together,” Father Sosa told the media Friday morning, June
25, just before celebrating a morning Mass for the missing, their family and
friends.
“For us it is very
important to have something to do at this time to bring hope to those people,”
said the priest, who has been pastor here for 11 years and was very familiar
with Champlain Towers.
“I have visited the place
many times and I have been to dinner with some of those members that are
missing,” Father Sosa said, recalling when he first realized the buildings had
collapsed.
“It was horrendous
because I didn’t know exactly what part of the building many of those families
lived in, but apparently the 10 families were in that part of the building that
collapsed, and some of those who are OK lived in the standing building.”
He added that he hopes
some of the 12 families unaccounted for were away on vacation at the time of
the collapse.
Over the years, he said
he has encountered residents of Champlain Towers while out walking and
exercising. The walking paths along the ocean behind Champlain Towers and other
buildings in the area are highly utilized for morning and evening hikes.
“It is like a community
formed out of the need to exercise, and some of the people would stop me and
ask for a blessing,” he said.
Father Sosa visited the
family reunification center at the nearby Surfside Community Center twice on
the day following the catastrophe, and he had an opportunity to counsel with
some of the Catholic families there.
He has also opened his
parish parking lot for the visiting search and rescue and volunteer teams who
continue working on the site. From Kendall, St. Agatha’s homeless ministry
arrived at the parish Saturday morning with water and other supplies for the search
and rescue teams and their dogs.
Wind, rain and fires at
the demolition site have hampered search and rescue efforts. As of Sunday afternoon,
June 27, the missing persons list stands at 156 and confirmed fatalities stand
at nine. Some of the surviving families have told the media that this crisis
won’t be over for them until they receive word of their loved one’s
status.
“I am an optimist but sad
about this horrible situation. It reminds me of Sept. 11, 2001, but I want to
keep hope alive that they will rescue more like they rescued that boy we saw on
television,” Father Sosa said.
His message to those
affected by the crisis is to keep up hope and “keep your heart on the one who
can grant us the opportunity to see our loved ones, and that is God. Keep your
hearts open so you will be able to feel and experience, in the midst of grief,
the healing presence of the Lord,” Father Sosa said.
“May we continue to work
together to help the needy and support our rescue teams and searchers as well
as the many at the Surfside center and other places who are relating to each
other in ways they didn’t relate before. Now, somehow, we are all together
trying to alleviate the situation and pain caused by this,” he added.
Photographer: TOM TRACY | FC
Fire rescue and search specialists at work June 25, 2021 near the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South in Surfside the day after the tragic event.
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