FIRE IN QUEBEC SENIOR'S HOME KILLS 10 AND LEAVES 22 MISSING - PRESUMED DEAD

On Thursday a Quebec seniors home caught fire in L'Isle-Verte, eastern Quebec. The fire started in resident's room. Ten people have died and 22 people are still considered missing. ''I think we can assume the worst.' said police Lt. Guy Lapointe on those still considered missing. The coroners office released the names of two victims: Juliette Saindon, 95, and Marie-Lauréat Dubé, 82. The cause of the deadly blaze has not been officially determined, but police sources that the fire originated in one of the residents' rooms.  A town in mourning in a  small community of fewer than 1,500.
USCCB RELEASE:
The Most Reverend Paul-André Durocher, Archbishop of Gatineau and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), has written to the Most Reverend Pierre-André Fournier, Archbishop of Rimouski, following the tragic fire in L'Isle-Verte, Quebec. The village is in the Archdiocese of Rimouski. In his letter, Archbishop Durocher conveys the profound sympathies and condolences of all the Bishops and Catholic faithful of Canada. Reverend Pierre-André Fournier
I am deeply affected by the sad news of the terrible fire in L'Isle-Verte Wednesay night that devastated the Résidence du Havre. The thought of so many elderly people dying is a disaster that fills me with great sadness. I know I speak in the name of all the Bishops of Canada, and all the faithful of our dioceses, in conveying to you and your faithful our profound sympathy and sincerest condolences.

This tragic fire recalls the awful explosion which struck the town of Lac-Mégantic only months ago. Once again, we are faced with the incomprehensible: the loss of so many lives, our precarious fragility, the shock of the unforeseen completely upending daily life. Once more, we witness as well the heroic efforts of emergency workers, human solidarity, and the deep desire to help.

In such a dreadful moment, our Christian faith invites us to turn toward the God of Life, into whose hands we entrust the dead, the wounded, the bereaved and the suffering. Let us make our own the trusting prayer of the Psalmist: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me .... I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long."

+ Paul-André Durocher
Archbishop of Gatineau and
President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops