A California family whose home was destroyed in the devastating Southern California wildfires went viral over the weekend for singing the Catholic hymn “Regina Coeli” after discovering that a statue of the Virgin Mary had survived the fire.
During a Sunday interview on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Peter Halpin, the patriarch of the family, admitted that the family had to “sneak” back to their property and “break the law” by returning to the site of the fire. Halpin explained that it was “healing” for the family to return to the property where they have lived for 37 years and find the statue of the Virgin Mary still standing despite the devastation of the wildfire.
Halpin told Fox News, “It was remarkable how everything had gotten fried, but the statue of The Virgin Mary and another statue of Saint Joseph were in perfect condition.”
“Obviously, they were a little singed, and we just took that opportunity to pray,” Halpin added. “Our home is dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus and always has been and all my family members, my extended family, so we said a prayer to the sacred heart of Jesus, and then we sang that special song that our entire family has known for decades to the Blessed Virgin, and it was a remarkable thing.”
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A video of the family singing a song in honor of the Virgin Mary at the remains of their home was shared on X, formerly Twitter.
During Sunday’s interview, Halpin told Fox News that the family did not originally intend for the song to go viral.
“It was pretty much just a family thing, but the response from the community has been unbelievable and so heartfelt,” he said.
Peter Halpin’s wife, Jackie Halpin, told Fox News that after seeing a picture her son-in-law had taken of the statue, she believed the family needed to return to the site of their home and thank God for the time they had enjoyed prior to the fire.
“That was my intention,” Halpin told Fox News. “We’re going to pray. We’re going to thank God that we’re safe, and we have entertained a lot for years. We feel very strongly in the virtue of hospitality, so I just wanted to pray and say, ‘If we can do it again, that would be great.'”
Halpin added, “The song [in the video] kind of came about on its own, so I just wanted to pray. I just want to be grateful as much as I can for what we’ve had.”
Pictures of Peter and Jackie Halpin, the Halpin family, and the Virgin Mary statue were shared Monday on X by The New York Post.
