Hundreds at Mass for 29 Texas Tornado Victims

Hundreds of mourners gathered Sunday beside the remains of a Roman Catholic church to pray for the 29 people killed when a tornado devastated this tiny farming community.

“While our hearts are heavy, God is still with us,” El Paso Bishop Raymond Pena told those who survived Friday’s tornado.

The afternoon Mass was held at the site of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, which was destroyed along with virtually every other building in the remote West Texas community of farm workers.

Also on Sunday, front-end loaders and dump trucks moved among the junkyard landscape of crumpled cars, toppled trees and splintered buildings. Volunteers and relatives of victims combed the wreckage, looking for valuables.

Boy Finds His Pet

One of the lucky searchers was 12-year-old Ramiro Ramirez, who found his pet chihuahua under debris in his house. The dog was alive and uninjured.

Utility crews erected new telephone and electric poles to restore service, even though only a few houses remained standing.

Volunteers from across Texas and New Mexico offered aid to the victims, and Pena said he has asked the 76 churches in the diocese to make a special appeal for help.

Rep. Ronald D. Coleman (D-Tex.), who was at the scene, said he has asked President Reagan for federal disaster aid, and Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to send in a damage assessment team.

Gov. Bill Clements expressed his sorrow and pledged massive state aid for the town of 350 about 190 miles east of El Paso.

Two Funerals Planned

Two funeral services are planned Tuesday, one at the Saragosa cemetery and another at the cemetery in Balmorhea, where some of the victims lived.

At the afternoon Mass in Saragosa, attended by about 500 residents, friends and reporters, Pena praised the faith of the community.

“Non-believers now will question our faith in God. But for us, the words that Jesus speaks to us in the Gospel today, ‘I will not abandon you,’ is a sign that God hears our prayers,” said Pena, standing on a flatbed truck.

On either side of the bishop stood statues of Jesus and Joseph, which survived the twister with only slight damage.

“The fact that the statue of the Lord remained intact was of great comfort to the people,” Pena said before the service.