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Family Who Sang Hymn in Midst of California Wildfire Rubble Praises God for 36 Years in Home
When Peter and Jacqueline Halpin evacuated the home they lived in for 36 years due to the Eaton wildfire, they had no idea they would never see it again.
The Halpins evacuated their Altadena, California, home on Jan. 7 due to the incoming Eaton fire with nothing but the clothes on their backs, some paperwork, a beloved icon, and a few family photo albums.
The next day, their son-in-law visited the neighborhood where all six of the Halpin children grew up to find the home completely destroyed. Peter and Jacqueline Halpin decided to gather their children and return to their property to pray and thank God for their time at that house.
“It was just, ‘Let’s just get up and pray and thank God for the wonderful memories that we’d had there,’” Jacqueline Halpin said. “We believe very strongly in the virtue of hospitality. We’ve had a lot of gatherings, so I just wanted to pray and thank God for our safety and ask him for protection.”
They prayed the Sacred Heart of Jesus prayer because Peter and Jacqueline and all of their adult children have dedicated their homes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Then they decided to sing Catholic hymn “Regina Caeli” around their statue of the Virgin Mary, the only structure on their property that remained standing.
“I just wanted to pray and thank God for our safety and ask him for protection,” Jacqueline Halpin said. “And then the song just kind of came about.”
They were shocked when the video went viral but thankful they could encourage others.
“It was just something that we needed to do,” Jacqueline Halpin said. “And evidently it’s touched a lot of people. And I have to say, after we saw it on the video, it touched us, too.”
When Peter and Jackie Halpin evacuated their home of 36 years, they had no idea they would never see it again.They returned 2 days after it burned in the Eaton fire to thank God for 36 years of memories.Little did they know their song would encourage millions, the parents of… https://t.co/r1CtxW9nK4 pic.twitter.com/2sFyiC3aox— Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell (@TheElizMitchell) January 13, 2025
For the Halpins, faith is everything.
“In it all, it always has been everything,” Jacqueline Halpin said.
The family said they couldn’t have gotten through this without their church community.
“I know our church and the other Catholic churches in the area are all ready to help people, but also for spiritual help,” the mother of six said. “I know we’re going to go through the stages of grief, and I’m a little afraid of that. And I know those people are going to help me walk that and take that journey.”
The Halpins moved to that home in 1988 when Jacqueline was expecting baby number four. All the kids were raised there and the later ones came home from the hospital there. All of their grandchildren frequently came to their house.
“It’s not like we’re the perfect family,” Jacqueline Halpin said. “We have squabbles. But home was a place where everybody could go.”
“We’ve had a lot of friends and just in our own family there for many, many celebrations,” she said. “Those are all the memories that we have. Hopefully we can recreate that and get our home rebuilt. But we know it’s going to be quite an ordeal.”
Peter Halpin is a contractor and hopes to begin rebuilding on the property as soon as possible. He fears government red tape will get in the way.
“I know exactly what needs to be done to get things rolling,” he said. “But what I’m afraid of is the bureaucrats are going to slow it down.”
“I’ve already called all my contacts for demolition,” he continued. “I’m a small outfit, but I’ve already called them and said, ‘Look, let’s be ready to go.’ I’ve even gotten some of my equipment ready to go because I want to help all my neighbors. I want to help our whole neighborhood get the lots cleared and get ready to build.”
Jacqueline Halpin said she hopes local and state leaders will put ideology aside and help people in need.
“We need help. We need desperate help. The people need help,” she said. “Make building permits easy to get. This is an unprecedented thing, and we need help. And we need leadership to step up and leave their ideology behind and help us.”
Peter Halpin said the fire should change elected leaders’ priorities.
“They can never convert the funds over to something else that could be more important,” he said. “‘Oh no, this money has to be used for this particular project and that’s it.’ Those type of things have to change. Priorities change in a state, especially when you have something like this.”
“Funds need to be able to be easily diverted when you have the opportunity to fix a problem from another project that you may be doing,” he continued.
The Halpin house was insured and a GoFundMe made by their oldest son, Pete, raised the amount the insurance company won’t cover. They look forward to rebuilding and moving back in as soon as possible. In the meantime, they are living with Pete and his family.
“Cling to those little parts of joy that you can find,” Jacqueline Halpin said. “We can still have a sense of humor. Laugh and cry and do what you need to do, and each out to other people.”
The post Family Who Sang Hymn in Midst of California Wildfire Rubble Praises God for 36 Years in Home appeared first on The Daily Signal.
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