Parishioners from Mary Queen of the Apostles Church in Salem return home after evacuating from Israel
SALEM - There was nothing but hugs and smiles as prayers were answered - parishioners from Mary Queen of the Apostles in Salem returned home safe after cutting their trip to Israel short.
A group of 30 returned home early after being in Israel when it came under attack from Hamas.
"The first day that we went on tour was when we saw the missiles and the bombs," said parishioner Mari Alix. During one of their tours, parishioners said they could hear sirens in the distance.
"We went to the Garden of Gethsemane and celebrated Mass there and that's when we began to hear bombs and could hear guns shooting and we feel very fortunate, very blessed, we came home but we know that we left behind a lot of people who are suffering, a lot of people who are in the midst of that violence right now," Pastor Bob Murray said.
The trip was supposed to be a nine-day spiritual pilgrimage in Israel. The day they arrived, the bombs started going off.
"Of course we ran into an extraordinary amount of violence and a dangerous situation," said Murray.
The group was 50 miles from Gaza when they were told to evacuate north towards Nazareth. Calm but concerned, they patiently negotiated a way to get out. They flew to Amman, Jordan, then to Istanbul and then safely back home to Boston.
"It truly means so much to see our prayers come true. The outpouring of love and support we received was phenomenal. We really came together as one family, as one community and it was remarkable," said parishioner Bill Card.
The group said they hope to return to Israel one day when the conflict is over and there's peace in the region