hurricane Maria

Four Catholic dioceses in Puerto Rico were selected to receive to $82 million in “hazard mitigation funding” from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The pope had sent the Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich to the hurricane-battered island to make a visit before Christmas to express his deep concern for the people and reach out in solidarity on his behalf to those who are suffering.

Almost two months after the devastating winds and rains of Hurricane Maria pummeled the island of Puerto Rico, there is still no clear path to recovery.

As November began, the people of Puerto Rico still faced “an unprecedented level of need” because of hurricanes Irma and Maria, which devastated the island in September, said the chairmen of two U.S. bishops’ committees.

Two of his three dairy farms were wiped out by Hurricane Maria which leaves an imminent economic catastrophe: the potential decimation of the island’s milk industry.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, New York, made a one-day trip to Puerto Rico to show solidarity, bring hope and provide some material help Oct. 30.

Hurricane-related deaths in Puerto Rico have been attributed to drowning and illness, but many Puerto Ricans, including local media professionals, see a link between such deaths and poverty.

In a video chat with young children participating in a program of the international network of “Scholas Occurrentes” Oct. 26, the pope spoke with children from Texas and Puerto Rico, where Hurricanes Harvey and Maria struck hardest.