Survivor of the Turkey earthquake credits the Virgin Mary for saving him

Only a few hours after Bassel Habkouk, a young Lebanese Catholic and father of two, arrived for a visit in Turkey on Feb. 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country and nearby Syria.

Habkouk found himself trapped underneath the rubble of fallen buildings for 52 hours as a result of the devastating earthquake, which killed more than 50,000 people and injured many more with tens of thousands still missing and hundreds of thousands homeless, according to the Associated Press.

Miraculously, Habkouk survived, and he recently shared details of his ordeal and the role the Virgin Mary played in it.

[...] Habkouk described his first moments under the rubble and his immediate prayer: “When the rubble fell on me, I fell to the ground, crying out from the bottom of my heart: O MARY!”

“I continued to call the Virgin Mary for the next 40 seconds until the earthquake stopped,” he continued. “Then I prayed the rosary from under the rubble. God protected me, and the Virgin Mary did not leave me.”

Habkouk said prayer gave him the power to resist despair and strengthened his faith that he would be rescued.

Fifty-two hours after he became trapped, at 7 a.m. on Feb. 8, Habkouk was rescued by a Turkish security team.

Guitta Maroun, March 1, 2023

Catholic News Agency